


Storybrook Medical

by not_the_saviour



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, F/F, Multi, No Curse, medical AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2018-09-22 07:59:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 30,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9594668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/not_the_saviour/pseuds/not_the_saviour
Summary: Storybrook Medical possesses some of the finest doctors of the East Side among them are Dr. Emma Swan and Dr. Regina Mills. Emma Swan is a struggling intern while Regina Mills is one of the best Cardio Surgeons on the country. Will the distant Dr. Mills warm up to the charming intern? Will Emma see Dr. Mills as anything more than a potential mentor?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work is heavy influenced by Once and Grey's Anatomy although is not a crossover by any means you'll definitely see some elements of the show here. I was really inspired by a lot of the work I read and some gif sets I saw about Swan Queen as doctors so I figured I would write what I wanted to read. I hope you really like it and if you do please don't hesitate on leaving your comments.

Emma Swan was having what could be described as the worst morning in the history of mankind. That was probably a little overdramatic if she were being honest, but still her day could use some improvement. 

First, she was late for her shift, which meant getting reamed by her senior resident, Dr. French, who looked like a very sweet person but had a mean streak in her. Her case wasn't helped by the fact that she still smelled like stale beer and had a particular marking on her neck that oddly resembled a hickey. 

Second thing that happened to her that morning, she was put on Dr. Mills’s service. Which meant that her day would be spent being a slave to the Cardio God and getting little to no OR time. The inter exam was right around the corner and she needed to up her game. 

The third thing that made her morning horrible was happening right now. Emma was running down the big sterile hallway to answer a 911 page. 

“What the hell happened?” Emma asked the nurse who was currently doing CPR to Emma’s patient. 

“I came to take his vitals and he started coding.” Nurse Perez answered. 

“He’s going into cardiac arrest.” Emma said as she took over the compressions. “Book an OR and page Dr. Mills now.” As she was doing compressions to the guy’s chest, she kept saying a small prayer in her mind. Rob just turned eighteen this month and was starting college next fall, he came in because he had an asthma attack and now he was slipping right under Emma’s fingers. 

Emma knew what this was. Rob most likely had a coronary artery defect that went undiagnosed. If they acted quickly, they had a shot at saving him. 

“What do we have here?” Dr. Mills asked as she finished getting scrubbed into surgery. 

“Coronary artery defect, I managed to bring him back but you need to get in here right now.” Emma said with an authority that surprised both Emma herself and Dr. Mills. 

“Who made the diagnosis?” Dr. Mills asked as she stepped in and began to open up the patient. 

“I did, Dr. Mills.” Emma answered confidently. 

“How confident are you?” Dr. Mills asked. 

“Very.” Emma said without any hesitation. 

Dr. Mills only managed a small nod of agreement before her only focus was to save the patient on her table. Emma realized that watching Dr. Regina Mills operate was on par with watching Matisse paint. She was precise and confident with every cut and every suture never second guessing herself. It was clear to anyone watching that Dr. Mills was in her element and knew what she was doing. 

The Cardio God was an excellent surgeon that much was clear, however she wasn't the greatest teacher. She mainly focused on getting the job done mostly forgetting that she was supposed to teach the intern standing across her table. If it wasn't for Emma constantly badgering her with questions, Regina wouldn't utter a word that wasn't a command or an instruction. 

“Suction.” Regina ordered. She briefly took her eyes of the open heart in her hands to look at Emma. “Think you can manage this next suture?” 

“Yes, ma’am” Emma said smiling under her mask. 

“Very well, don’t screw it up, doctor.” Regina said. 

While Emma was trying her best to assist in saving Rob, her fellow interns were watching the surgery from the gallery. 

“I can't believe the Evil Queen let her scrub in.” said Dr. Neal Cassidy, his words laced with envy. 

Neal was an okay student, what he lacked in talent he made up for with his ingenuity. No one knew how he got into the program, he didn't come from an Ivy League school like most of them did, his letters of recommendation were sub par as was his skill in the OR.

“How long do you think it’ll be before she screws up?” Dr. Killian Jones asked. “Five bucks say she’s going to rip out that suture.” 

Killian, according to most attendings was fairly talented but according to most of the female nurse staff he was a slime ball.

“That’s one of our own down there. You could be a bit more supportive.” Dr. Ruby Lucas said. 

There are many things that could be said about Ruby, her flirty nature often rub some people the wrong way but unlike Neal Cassidy, she got into the program on merit alone. Both her GPA and her recommendation letters were stellar and so far she hadn't pissed any of her attendings. 

“Look at her go.” Dr. Mulan Wu commented. “Yesterday Lucas scrubbed in with the Wicked Witch and I scrubbed in with Snow White. Today is Swan with the Evil Queen. When are you guys getting on our level?” she said before getting a high five from Ruby. 

Mulan was competitive to say the least. Her father had been the Chief of Surgery before he had a stoke in the middle of a surgery. Mulan had an incredible drive and the pressure to live up to her father’s legacy. 

“Shut up.” Killian said as he stood up to leave. 

“Where are you going? You’re going to miss the surgery.” Neal said. 

“I’m going to find me a surgery.” Killian said over his shoulder. “But you’re welcome to stay and watch Swan kick your ass, princess.” 

After closing up the patient Emma was on a high. She really couldn't believe her luck. A few hours ago she was complaining about having to come to work hung over and being placed with the most feared attending. But now not only had she managed to save a young man’s life but she did so with Dr. Regina Mills, who’s probably the best cardio surgeon this side of the globe. 

Emma was scrubbing out of surgery next to Regina, as the two shared a somewhat comfortable silence Emma couldn't help sneaking in a glance. She arrived to the conclusion that every little thing Regina Mills did was fascinating and she could spend hours on end just watching her go about her day. 

“You’re not completely incompetent.” Regina said without looking at Emma. 

“Thank you, Dr. Mills.” Emma said suddenly flustered like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar. 

“I’ll expect you for rounds tomorrow morning, Dr. Swan. Don’t be late.” Regina said taking a good look at Emma as if sizing her up. “And please cover up that bruise on your neck. It’s really unbecoming.”

Without another word Regina left the scrub room leaving a stunned Emma behind her. Emma slowly lifted a hand to touch her neck as if suddenly remembering the bruise that was a souvenir from one of the many temporary lovers that she left behind. 

Emma was finishing up her charts for the day, still buzzing from the day’s events. Moments like the ones she experienced in that OR are what make all the sleepless nights and agonizing ours of studying worth it. She knew that the high she felt when she was cutting someone open would be something she was going to chase after all of her life. 

“Hi, Rock Star.” Ruby said as she slid her chart next to Emma’s. “We all saw you kick ass in the OR today.” 

“It was amazing, Rubes.” Emma said beaming. “We’re having a pretty good week you and I, huh?” 

“Those Mills sisters are truly something else.” Ruby said. “I don't know which one is more talented.” 

“Regina.” Emma said appalled that someone was putting that fact in question. 

“I don’t know…” Ruby said. “Zelena is pretty good at what she does.” 

“She’s captain of the gyno squad, that’s not as impressive as being the head of cardio surgery.” Emma said. 

“You’re a snob, Swan.” Ruby accused playfully. “You should try to get on Blanchard’s service tomorrow, I’m on her service and I bet she’ll totally let us scrub in the liver transplant she’s doing on a five year old tomorrow.” 

“Can’t.” Emma said closing the last of her charts. “I’m with Mills again tomorrow.” 

“Yikes, you must have really pissed off French.” Ruby said signing the last of her charts.

“No, Regina requested me herself.” Emma said with a shrug. “Plus she not as Evil as we first thought she was. Sure I have to do all of her charts and sometimes she pages me just so I can go fetch her some coffee but I got to operate today because of her.”

“I guess I’ll wave at you when you sit on the gallery to watch me scrub in a liver transplant.” Ruby said smugly. “I’m glad you had a good day today, Ems. You made a really nice save.” 

“Thanks Ruby, I guess tomorrow its my turn to root for you from the sidelines.” Emma said genuinely excited for her friends turn at the bat. “You’re gonna kick ass.”

“You know it.” Ruby said with a flirty wink that caused Emma to chuckle. 

“You’re still here?” Dr. Zelena Mills asked when she entered the attendings lounge and saw that the sister she thought home hours ago was still in the hospital. 

“I wanted to check on a patient post-op.” Regina said. “I was just on my way out.” 

Since they were little Zelena and Regina had always been competitive with each other to the point where their relationship had always been difficult. Working together had not help mend their relationship but when Regina lost her husband, Zelena figured it was due time to put old rivalries aside. 

“You know we have inters for that, right?” Zelena asked as she started to change out of her dirty scrubs. 

“The inters are morons. Most of them anyway…” Regina said as she checked in the mirror that her hair was perfectly set. “Speaking of which…what do you know about Dr. Swan?” 

“Which one is that?” Zelena asked. “Most of them are going to crash and burn anyway so I’m not bothering to learn any of their names.” 

“The blond with the blue green eyes.” Regina answered. “She’s tall-ish with a very athletic body.”

“Of course, Dr. Swan with the blue green eyes.” Zelena said with a mischievous glimmer in her eyes. “I don’t know much about her to be honest. I’ve only had her once on my rotation and if memory serves she was quite adequate. I don’t know if she’s single though. Sorry.” 

“I didn't ask you.” Regina said rolling her eyes. 

“I figured it was implied.” Zelena said as she finished changing her clothes. “I think I heard a rumor about the blond intern sleeping with most of the nurse staff. I don't know for certain, I can’t keep up with horny interns.” 

“She’s very skilled, surprisingly so.” Regina said thinking back at how well the young intern had held her own in the OR. 

“Really? Well color me surprised.” Zelena said sporting a huge grin. “I didn't think you would go for it. I know you swing both ways but I never thought you would go for an intern. I guess Dr. Swan is as good as advertised. Good for you, Regina.”

Regina couldn't help but scoff at her sister’s accusation. “Please, I would never in a million years sleep with someone like Dr. Swan. I was merely referring to her skills in the operating room.” 

“Why not?” Zelena asked genuinely curious. 

“For started its against hospital rules.” Regina argued. 

Now it was Zelena’s turn to scoff. “That has never stopped me before.” 

“That’s because you are completely without shame.” Regina said. 

“That’s true.” Zelena nodded. “But right now I’m about to meet the most gorgeous radiologist whom I probably will end up riding like a pony later tonight. It’ll do you some good to take a walk on the wild side, to not be so stuck up all the time.” 

Regina gave a small laugh to her sister’s statement. “Have fun. I on the other side, will have dinner with the most handsome fourth grader.” She said as she picked up the purse that was resting on the top of the table before she turned to leave the room. 

“Give Henry my love.” Zelena called after her. 

“Will do.” Regina called back.


	2. Chapter 2

The interns were getting ready for their shift in the locker room, when Dr. Belle French entered, the room fell silent. People respected Belle, interns, residents and attendings alike. Belle was a good doctor and to her interns she was a good mentor, her work in the OR and her gentle nature gained her the appreciation of most of the hospital staff, even Dr. Gold who almost never had anything good to say about anyone. 

“Lucas, you’re in peds today with Blanchard.” Belle called in front of the whole group of interns giving them their assignments for the day. 

Ruby raised a small fist in sign of victory. 

“Jones, you’re in the pit with Nolan today.” French said. “Please try not to maim anyone this time around.” 

Soft snickers could be heard around the room. The last time Killian had been in the pit a guy came in with his face split open and he managed to make a bad situation worse that ended with David Nolan swearing Jones would never touch one of his patients ever again. 

“Wu, today you are in neuro with Dr. Nolan.” Belle called almost bored with the morning routine. “That is Kathryn Nolan, obviously.” 

“Swan, you’re with Mills today.” Belle continued. “Must have done something right yesterday, the Queen requested you herself.” 

Emma looked very pleased with herself. 

“Midas is still out with the full which means you lucky interns need to check on his post-up patients.” Belle said as started to leave the locker room. 

“Uh, Dr. French.” Neal Cassidy called after her. “You haven't assigned me to an attending.” 

“I thought it was obvious.” Belle said with a smirk. “Today you are the luckiest one of all. You get to shadow the Chief himself.” 

The only way to properly describe the look on Neal’s face was that of 'oh shit'. 

“You’re screwed, dude.” Ruby said once French was out of the room. 

“Shut up.” Neal said bitterly. 

“Well while you play nurse today, the rest of us surgeons have some doctoring to do.” Emma said putting her stethoscope in the right pocket of her lab coat. “See you at lunch.” 

“Good luck, bud. You’re going to need it.” Mulan said patting Neal’s shoulder. 

“If you survive today drinks are on me at the Rabbit Hole.” Killian said sympathetically. 

“I’d love to stay and watch this beautiful bromance unravel but I got a liver transplant to get to.” Ruby said. “Have a great day!” 

“You’re late.” Regina said greeting Emma as she handled her a tower of charts. 

“I’m sorry, I had to check on Dr. Midas patients.” Emma said “He’s still…”

Her words were interrupted when Regina raised a hand, without words instructing her to stop talking. “I’m not interested. Do those,” she said gesturing to the pile of charts that were currently occupying Emma’s hands. “but first check on my post-ups. Oh and you also need to prep the patient on bed twelve for surgery.” 

“You got it, Dr. Mills.” Emma said trying to keep a positive attitude. 

“What are you doing standing here still?” Regina asked. “Go. You have work to do.” 

Emma rushed to get out of Regina’s way in order to get her work done. If Emma had any hopes of scrubbing into a surgery today she needed to not piss off Dr. Mills any further. 

After she finished doing rounds on Regina’s post ops, she decided to prepare the patient that was to have surgery in a few hours and after that she would finish doing all of the charts. Emma had a game plan for the day and she was sticking to it. 

“Good morning, Mr. Ponti.” Emma said with a smile. She took a look at the patient’s chart. Sixty year old male with Carotid Artery Disease. This should be an easy fix. “How are you feeling today?” 

“Please call me Edgar.” He said. “Am I going into surgery now? Could we wait for my daughter to get here? She’s so nervous. I’ve told her Dr. Mills is one of the best but she still worries. Every since her mom left us, all we have is each other. I’m sure you can imagine.” 

“I can.” Emma said. “Dr. Mills can probably do this procedure with her eyes closed. I’m here to prepare you for surgery but if you promise not to tell we can stall a little until your daughter gets here.” 

“Thank you, doctor.” Edgar said letting out a breath of relief. “Do you really think I have nothing to worry about?” 

“Every time anyone goes under anesthesia there’s a risk, it doesn't matter how small or big the procedure is.” Emma said. “But I can assure you that you’re going to have the best people working on you making sure everything runs smoothly.” 

“I can’t die.” Edgar said tears starting to fill his eyes. “I can’t leave my daughter all alone.” 

“You won’t leave your daughter alone, Edgar.” Emma said. “You’re going to be back on your feet before you even know it.” 

When lunch time came around Emma, Ruby and Mulan shared a table in the middle of the cafeteria. Emma was still doing Regina’s charts, Ruby was reading up on her up coming surgery and Mulan was getting a head start studying for the intern exam. They were eating in silence when Killian sat down on the table with a loud thud looking like he could start crying at any minute. 

“You okay?” Emma asked barely looking up from the papers in front of her. “Because you look like shit.” 

“The pit is the most horrible place in this god forsaken hospital.” Killian said. “Nolan hates me, so far I’ve been vomited on twice and seen things a man cannot ever unsee.” 

Emma gave a small chuckle. 

“Serves you right.” Ruby said. 

“How come?” Killian said. “I’ve done nothing to deserve this.” 

“I don’t know,” Ruby said with a shrug. “I just don’t like you.”

Neal approached the table, sat down and stole the apple from Emma’s tray. He also looked like he was having a terrible day. Which was understandable when you take into consideration that he had to spend most of his day in close contact with Dr. Gold. 

“What’s got your panties in a bunch?” Mulan asked. 

“Gold is an asshole.” Neal said. 

“Here, here.” Emma said rising her plastic cup of soda. 

A persistent beeping ripped through the cafeteria causing everyone to franticly look at their pagers. 

“Not it.” Ruby said with a sigh of relief. 

“Me neither.” Emma said internally thanking her lucky stars. 

“Nope.” Killian said. 

“Shit.” Mulan said as she stated sprinting out of the cafeteria. 

A second later another beeping rang through the room and everyone once again checked their pagers as if it was second nature to them. 

“It’s me.” Emma said putting down her soda. 

“The Evil Queen summoning you?” Neal asked. 

“Yeah.” Emma said standing from the table and taking her charts with her. “Wish me luck.” 

“Good luck, babe.” Ruby called after her. 

At Ruby’s words Neal rolled his eyes and shared a knowing look with Killian. This was not lost on Ruby and for a second she debated with herself whether if she should ask or not. Curiosity eating at her she decided to go for it. 

“What was that?” She said gesturing between Neal and Killian. 

“You’re so in love with her, its pathetic.” Neal said with some disgust laced between his words. 

“Am not.” Ruby said her cheeks starting to blush. 

Killian patted Ruby’s hand with his own. “Its okay. The first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem.” 

“You’re assholes.” Ruby said as she stood up to leave. “Both of you.” 

Neal and Killian looked at each other and shrugged. Everyone knew Ruby had a school crush on Emma since their first day. Killian suspected Emma knew about Ruby’s feelings but never mentioned it because she didn't feel the same way. To a certain degree he understood what it felt to have feelings for someone but not being able to act on them because you were stuck in the proverbial friend zone. 

Emma and Regina were scrubbing into surgery side by side. Regina looked at Emma out of the corner of her eyes and remembered the conversation she had with her sister about the young intern being as good as advertised. She would deny it if anyone asked but Dr. Swan caused her curiosity. She knew the hospital grapevine was ripe with gossip so she spent a good part of her day asking nonchalantly about Emma but her efforts were futile. It seemed like people around the hospital really liked her but no one seemed to know much about her. 

“Twice in less than twenty four hours.” Emma said bringing Regina out of her thoughts. “Has to be some sort of record, right?” 

“Excuse me?” Regina asked confused not knowing what on Earth the woman next to her was blabbering on about. 

“The times we’ve scrubbed in together.” Emma explained. “Before yesterday I had never been in the OR with you. That’s why I’m saying that this is a record.” 

“You don't have to talk to me as if I were a slow child.” Regina said playing up her annoyance. “I’m well aware who gets into my OR and who doesn't.” 

“I’m sorry, I didn't mean anything by it.” Emma said regretting opening up her mouth in the first place. “I’m just trying to make conversation.”

“Please don’t.” Regina snapped. 

Emma stopped making attempts at conversation with Regina. She didn't even know why she even bothered, they didn't called Dr. Mills The Evil Queen because she was all sunshine and rainbows. It was a borderline miracle that Regina had even let an intern touch a patient let alone scrub in twice in less than twenty four hours. 

“Ten blade.” Regina ordered before a nurse passed her the instrument. 

Regina was taking more time than usual to actually operate on the patient. It was clear to Emma that Edgar’s heart was in worse shape than they initially thought but still she expected Regina to do something other than blankly stare at the exposed heart in front of them. 

“Close him up, Dr. Swan, we’re done here.” Regina said as she stepped away from the table. 

It took a moment for Emma to comprehend Regina’s words. “He’s going to die if you don't operate on him.” 

“He’s going to die if tonight if I do.” Regina said. “We can’t save them all, doctor.” 

“So that’s it you’re just giving up?” Emma asked baffled. 

“Like I said, we’re done here.” Regina gave her a pointed look as she removed her surgical gloves. “I hear there’s a liver transplant going on in OR two, if you hurry up you might catch it.” 

Emma promised Edgar they would do everything in their hands to save him. She couldn't believe Regina was giving up so easily. “You can’t just walk away and leave him to die. He's a person. He has a daughter that’s expecting us to save her father.” 

“Dr. Swan, there is nothing for us to do.” Regina said letting out a breath of frustration. “Look at that heart, its too weak.” 

“There has to be something we could do.” Emma said almost pleading. 

“There’s not.” Regina said. “Close him up, while I go update his daughter.” 

Regina was a woman of strong convictions. She was decisive and sure of herself, she almost never second guessed her decisions. Today was no different. She did everything within her reach to save that patient but his heart was too far gone. Why couldn't Emma see that? She wasn't this horrible, cold hearted person everyone made her out to be.

“Dr. Swan.” Regina greeted when the elevator doors opened and the young intern stepped in. 

“Dr. Mills.” Emma said. 

Regina looked at Emma’s reflection mirrored on the doors. Emma was certainly physically appealing but that was not all of it. Regina recognized in her a drive different from everyone else, a particular need to prove herself. Regina thought how easy it would be to stop the elevator right now and push her against the wall. She found herself staring at Emma’s lips fantasizing about how they would feel against hers. 

“Is there something I can help you with, Dr. Mills?” Emma asked weary. 

“What? No.” Regina said silently curing herself. “I thought you might be interested in knowing that I updated the patients daughter. I referred him to a cardiologist that might be able to treat him.” 

“Thank you.” Emma said. “I was just about to ask you.” 

Regina decided to take the plunge and stop the elevator. Here was the only place in the whole hospital where they might be able to have a conversation without being overheard. 

“I made the right call today.” Regina said. “There was no way I, or anyone else for that matter, could've perfumed that procedure successfully. You’ll soon find that surgery is not always about cutting, sometimes is about knowing when its in your patients best interest not to do so.” 

Emma just nodded in response. 

“Do you understand what I’m trying to teach you?” Regina asked mildly annoyed. 

“Yeah.” Emma said. “But still I can’t help but feel…” 

“Useless?” Regina asked. “Many times that feeling comes with the job.” She said before she pressed for the elevator doors to open. 

Regina started to walk out when Emma put her hand between the doors to stop them from closing completely. 

“Dr. Mills.” Emma called after her. “I know you made the right call. Thank you for the opportunity.” 

Regina was taken aback for an instant, instead of words what came out of her was a small smile that she saw mirrored on Emma’s face as the elevator doors closed between them.


	3. Chapter 3

Regina panted heavily as a head bobbed under the sheet that was covering her from the waist down. She was starting to sweat so much that her hair was sticking to her forehead. The on call room was warm and quiet, the only thing audible being Regina’s gasps and pants. She was so close to the edge, the only thing she needed to take her over it was to feel a little bit more of her lover. 

“Dr. Swan.” Regina moaned between pants. 

When that name came out of her mouth, Regina opened her eyes in surprise. Upon opening her eyes she saw that she wasn't in an on call room with Emma Swan, she was in fact in her very own bedroom with no Emma Swan in sight. 

She was both relived and disappointed. 

This wasn't the first time she’d had this sort of dream about the young doctor. Since Emma had been for the first time in the OR with her a few weeks ago these types of dreams had become a common occurrence.

Regina looked to her bedside table and saw that it was almost time for her alarm to ring. She had to get herself ready for the day before waking up her son to get him ready for his day. When Daniel used to be around things were much easier. She missed seeing his boyish face first thing in the morning. At the thought of Daniel a pang of guilt rang through her body. She did her best to brush the feeling aside as she tried to do most moments when she caught herself getting used to life without him.  
Ruby walked carefully towards Regina who was currently giving orders to one of the nurses. She knew she wasn't Regina’s favorite, at the beginning of the year Ruby had messed up a stitch on one of her patients and ever since Regina had treated her as if she were incompetent. 

But today was going to be different. Ruby was determined to prove her wrong. She was a skilled doctor and she was going to prove it. 

“Good morning, Dr. Mills.” Ruby greeted nervously. 

Regina gave her a side glance. 

“What do you want?” She asked. 

“I’m on your service today.” Ruby said giving herself an internal pep talk. 

“Where’s Dr. Swan?” Regina asked. 

“She’s on Dr. Nolan’s service today.” Ruby said. 

Regina rubbed her temples as if sensing a headache about to set in. Emma had been working with her almost uninterrupted for the past couple of weeks. They had settled into a routine that she was comfortable with. For the past two weeks every morning Emma would bring Regina a scalding cup of coffee, just the way she liked it, before they started to discuss the patients they had for the day. She was impressed with how meticulous Emma was, since they started to work together Regina had less work on her plate which meant more time with her son. 

“A heart was just made available, I need you to prep the patient on bed eight for surgery.” Regina said. “Think you can manage that without killing my patient?” 

“Yes, Dr. Mills.” Ruby answered eagerly. 

“Well go on ahead.” Regina said annoyed. “I don’t have all day.” 

When Ruby informed Regina that her patient was ready, she made it clear that the intern wasn't getting anywhere near that transplant. With the free time in her hands she decided to pay Emma a visit at the pit. Things in the emergency room where pretty slow so she figured Emma had time to hangout with her. 

“Hey, there good looking.” Ruby said as she slid a chair next to Emma’s. 

“What’s up, Rubes?” Emma asked putting down the journal she was reading. “What are you doing here? I heard Dr. Mills was doing a transplant in OR 3.” 

“She is.” Ruby said. 

“She didn't let you scrub in?” Emma asked already knowing the answer. 

Ruby took the journal from Emma’s hand wanting to change the subject. “Cardiothoracic Surgery.” She read out loud. 

“It’s just something Regina recommended.” Emma said grabbing the journal back from Ruby’s hands. 

“I thought you were trauma all the way.” Ruby said. 

“And I am.” Emma said. “It never hurts to learn something else.” 

“I wasn't judging.” Ruby said rising her hands in surrender. “Hey, if you get out early do you want to grab a drink?” 

“Sure.” Emma said her focus returning to the article she was reading before Ruby found her. 

Ruby sensed Emma’s wall coming up and decided to give her some space. This had happened before. Emma was weirdly protective of herself and never let anyone see her in a vulnerable position. In their time of knowing each other Ruby had come to both love and hate that about her.  
Regina let herself fall into the couch in the attending’s lounge. Surgery had gone for longer than she expected and she was so exhausted she could barely feel her feet. She let her body relax into the cushions as her eyes slowly started to close all by themselves. 

“You look like shit.” Kathryn Nolan said as she entered the room going directly for the pot of hours old coffee. “Long surgery?” 

“Heart transplant on a twelve year old.” Regina said. “I can still hear Blanchard’s incessant chatter in my brain.” 

“Need me to lobotomize you?” Kathryn said as she took a sip from a cup of coffee. 

Regina let out a chuckle.

“You stole my intern.” Regina said changing the subject. “I’m going to get you back for that.” 

If Regina had her eyes opened she could’ve seen the confusion on Kathryn’s face. 

“Jones is your intern?” She asked. “That’s surprising to say the least.” 

“Jones?” Regina asked sitting up. “I meant Swan.” 

“Swan?” Kathryn asked. “Emma Swan? She was on David’s rotation.” 

“Ah.” Regina said, the confusion being cleared up. 

“Well, I’m going to leave you to it. I have a skills lab to run.” Kathryn said setting her cup of coffee down. “You should go lie down. You really do look horrible.” 

When Kathryn left the room Regina stood up from the couch to stretch her sore muscles. She looked at her watch, she still had a few hours left of her shift. In the attending’s lounge she was unlikely to get any rest. Doctors were always coming and going and she really wanted to get some sleep in before she went home to her son. 

Regina walked the long hallway in search for an available room. In her first attempt she found the door to be locked which meant someone was using the room for many things other than what they were intended for. She found another room, when she turned the handle on the door and found that it was unlocked she entered the threshold. 

“Oh my god.” said Rosie. 

Rosie was a young graduate that had just started to work in the hospital as an ER nurse a few days ago. Currently she was in a state of undress clearly not appropriate for the work place. Her scrub top was discarded minutes ago and she had just kicked off her pants while she almost tore off the scrub top of the surgical intern that was grabbing her ass. 

“Shit.” Emma said stepping away from Rosie as if being burnt. She quickly grabbed the scrub top that had just hit the floor in order to cover herself. 

“Dr. Swan.” Regina said still perplexed from what she had just witnessed. She couldn't keep her eyes away from Emma as she felt a surge of rage and, dare she say it, jealousy come over her. Everyone in the hospital knew about Emma’s reputation and Regina wasn't the exception. But she knew better than to trust hospital gossip and she figured after getting to know Emma a little bit more these past few weeks that those rumors were unfounded.

That was until she found Emma with her hands grabbing the ass of a half naked nurse. 

“I’m sorry.” Emma said feeling the rush of blood heat up the top of her ears. “I have patients. I’ll call you later.” She stammered as she made her way past Regina and out of the room. 

“I’m so sorry, Dr. Mills.” Rosie said as she got dressed as fast as humanly possible. 

“Don’t.” Regina said. 

“I don’t usually do this.” Rosie said. 

“Save it.” Regina said making a dismissive gesture with her hand. 

“Please don’t tell my boss.” Rosie almost begged. “This is my first serious job and I don’t want to get fired because I got involved with a doctor.” 

“Then you shouldn't have.” Regina said bluntly. 

“Oh God.” Rosie said with watery eyes. 

“I won’t tell anyone.” Regina said taking pity on the young nurse. “But next time may I suggest you be a little more discreet.” 

“Yes.” Rosie said. “Thank you, Dr. Mills.”  


Regina was uncorking the wine while Kathryn reached for three wine glasses. After having dinner with Henry, making sure he had all of his homework done and putting him to sleep Kathryn and Zelena arrived to her house with a bottle of wine each. 

“Where did you leave that husband of yours?” Zelena asked as Regina poured the wine into the glasses. 

“He’s working a double shift.” Kathryn said. “He’s been acting so weird lately. I don’t know what has gotten into him.” 

“How so?” Regina asked. 

“I don’t know.” Kathryn said. “He’s had a lot of work lately and I’m just being needy. Anyway, what’s new with you?” 

“Regina caught Hot Intern getting hot and heavy with a nurse in an on call room.” Zelena said.  
Regina shook her head as she took a sip from her wine glass. 

“Wait.” Kathryn said confused. “Who is Hot Intern?” 

“Swan.” Zelena said. “Regina has a school girl crush on her.” 

“I do not.” Regina protested. 

“She does.” Zelena said. 

“You do.” Kathryn said agreeing with Zelena. “She accused me today of stealing her intern. You know who said intern was?” Kathryn asked rhetorically. “You guessed it. Dr. Emma Swan.” 

“Can you stop all this childish nonsense?” Regina asked annoyed.

“Can you at least admit you’re attracted to Dr. Swan?” Kathryn said. “I can see why you call her Hot Intern. She is indeed very hot.” 

“Fine.” Regina said setting her glass down. “She is rather easy on the eyes.” 

“I think you should go for it.” Zelena said taking a big gulp of wine out of her glass. “Emma is obviously into casual sex and you could use casual for a change. It’s time for you to get back in the saddle. So to speak…” 

“I am not interested in a relationship.” Regina said. “Its too soon for that.” 

“Its been more than a year, honey.” Kathryn said. “You need to start moving on.” 

“And besides who said anything about a relationship anyway?” Zelena asked. “Emma could be the rebound you need to get you ready for your next relationship. She could be a palate cleanser.” 

“A palate cleanser? Really?” Kathryn asked. 

“I couldn't think of anything else.” Zelena said with a shrug. 

“Tasteless metaphor aside,” Kathryn said. “Your sister is right.” 

“I need you to be less invested in my personal affairs and more invested in the medicine you practice every day.” Regina said. 

Regina wasn't one for discussing her personal life with other people but she had to admit, at least to herself, that they weren't completely off mark. She found Emma to be incredibly attractive and beside who could they hurt? Regina could start testing the waters to see if Emma returned her advances. As long as they kept it very discreet, she couldn’t see what was so bad about some harmless fling.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I'm so so sorry I took so long to update but life got in the way. I promise I will finish this story. This chapter is basically unedited. I am looking for someone willing to take a look to the chapters before I upload them. Anyway...you can expect a new chapter in the next few days. Any and all feed back is greatly appreciated.  
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Emma walked into work determined to make the best out of her day. She had her index cards ready to study for the intern exam in between patients, she had new scrubs on, today was going to be a good day. To top it all off, she was assigned to Regina for the rest of the week, which meant extra OR time. 

“Hey, Rubes.” Emma said as she slid next to Ruby who was leaning against the nurse’s desk. 

“Hi.” Ruby replied coldly. 

“Everything okay?” Emma asked concerned. The last time she had talked to Ruby she had been a bit curt with her but Ruby was never one to hold a grudge. If she was mad, Emma must have done something big to piss her off. The odd thing was, Emma couldn’t remember doing anything that would’ve made her mad. 

“Yeah.” Ruby said before she walked away from Emma. 

Emma stood there perplex. This wasn’t like Ruby. Ruby was usually obnoxiously affectionate. Being on the receiving end of Ruby’s cold shoulder bothered Emma in ways that surprised her. 

“Killian.” Emma called when she saw her classmate walking by. 

“What’s up?” He asked. 

“Do you know what’s wrong with Ruby?” Emma asked. “She seemed off this morning…” 

Killian took a second to stare at Emma as if she were the dumbest person he had ever met. 

“You’re kidding, right?” Killian asked. 

“No.” Emma said. “She barely even looked at me just now. Something serious must be going on.”

“Wow, you truly are clueless.” Killian said. 

“What does that mean?” Emma asked. 

“Just talk to her, Em.” Killian said before he started to walk away. 

Regina made her way around the hallways wanting to avoid the intern assigned to her for the rest of the week. It is true that she had contemplated for a hot second a fling with a certain blond intern but after closer consideration she could see why that would be a massive mistake. She was supposed to be Emma’s teacher, she saw the potential Emma had to be a great surgeon. Having an affair with her, no matter how brief, would only make things difficult. 

That was not to say that Regina didn’t feel a certain attraction to the young intern. However, she was not about to risk the impeccable reputation she had built in over a decade of career for a simple rump in the sheets. 

“Dr. Mills.” Emma called after her. 

“What?” Regina snapped without even turning to look at her. 

“I’m on your service today.” Emma said. 

“I know.” Regina said. “You’re late.” 

“I’m not.” Emma challenged. “I spent like an hour looking for you. I couldn’t find you.” 

“That’s not my problem, is it?” Regina said to end the conversation. 

“No. I suppose not.” Emma said. “I’m sorry for not finding you sooner.” She lightly pated Regina’s shoulder causing her to jump. 

“Personal space, Dr. Swan.” Regina said.

“I’m sorry.” Emma said. 

“So I keep hearing.” Regina said. 

Emma stared at her in bewilderment. She couldn’t figure out what had gotten into everyone this morning. First it was Ruby being mean to her, then Killian being all weird too and now Regina was acting more like a bitch than normal. Since they stared working together more often she had come to believe she had formed a sort of camaraderie with the cardio attending. Regina being cold to her hurt. 

That’s why without any anticipation she pulled Regina into an on-call room. 

“Excuse me?” Regina said all but fuming from her ears. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” 

“Are you mad at me because of what happened the other day?” Emma asked. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dr. Swan, but if I were you I would thread carefully.” Regina said. “In case you forgot, I’m your superior and you’re stepping out of line.” 

“I know that what you saw the other day was super unprofessional on my part.” Emma said. “I shouldn’t have brought my personal life into work but I hope that hasn’t changed your opinion of me as a surgeon. If it did, I apologize and promise that it will not happen again.” 

“You can save your apologies for someone who cares.” Regina said. “I don’t need them and I certainly didn’t ask for them.” 

Regina turned to leave the room but was stopped when Emma grabbed her by the wrist making her turn around to face her again. 

“I wanted to apologize anyway.” Emma said not letting go of her wrist and looking her straight in the eyes. “Your opinion means a lot to me.” 

“Why?” Regina asked letting herself get lost in Emma’s big blue eyes.

“I value your judgment.” Emma said taking a step closer. 

Regina could almost feel Emma’s breath on hers so she took a step back only to find her back against the wall. 

“Is that all?” Regina asked challengingly. 

“Yes, that’s all.” Emma said letting go.

Regina was left alone in the room left to wonder what the hell had just happened. For a second there she was almost sure that Emma was going to kiss her. A simultaneous wave of relief and regret washed over her. 

Emma sat at the gallery alone taking notes on the surgery Dr. Nolan was performing. She came into the program with her sights on trauma. Its true that along the way she had allowed herself to get distracted with cardio but because she was a huge idiot she had probably screwed that up for good so back to trauma it was. 

“Oh, you’re here.” Ruby said disappointed. Nonetheless she sat next to Emma. 

“Yeah.” Emma said. “You sound upset.” 

“I just wanted to be alone for a minute.” Ruby said. 

“Is something wrong?” Emma asked with genuine concern. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” 

Ruby took a deep breath. She knew she needed to talk to Emma eventually but she wasn’t ready to have that conversation at this precise moment. When she talked to Emma about her feelings she wanted to be more prepared. 

“I know.” Ruby said forcing a smile. “I’m just having a weird day.” 

“I can relate to that.” Emma said smiling back at her. “Are you sure everything is okay?” 

“Yeah, I’m just having a bad day.” Ruby said. “What about you? What are you doing here? I thought you were on cardio today.” 

“I am.” Emma said. “The Evil Queen is pissed at me. So here I am.” She said with a shrug. 

“So she’s back to being The Evil Queen?” Ruby asked. 

“Pretty much.” Emma said. 

“What did you do?” Ruby inquired. 

Emma look over her shoulder, for a moment considering telling Ruby everything that happened in the on-call room. She wanted to tell her everything about how she almost made a huge stupid mistake. She had felt something in that room earlier and she was almost sure that if at that moment, she had made an advance on Regina, her efforts would not have been completely rejected. 

“I was late to rounds.” Emma settled for a half truth. “You know how she gets.” 

“She’ll get over it soon enough.” Ruby said. “She’s like obsessed with you.” 

“Why do you say that?” Emma asked perking up at Ruby’s comment. 

“You’re the only intern that has assisted her in surgery so far.” Ruby said. “She’s always requesting you on her service and the last time I had the misfortune to be assigned to her she made my life a living hell because I don’t organize her charts in the same order that you do.”

“That doesn’t mean she’s obsessed with me.” Emma said. 

“Maybe not.” Ruby said. “But it does mean that out of all the interns you’re the one she hates the least so you’ll probably be back on her good graces soon enough.” 

“It doesn’t matter. Trauma is more up my alley anyway.” Emma said shifting her focus back to Dr. Nolan’s surgery. 

After saving the life of a man who had been attacked by a bear Dr. David Nolan was ready to hang his scrubs and call it a day. The beauty about being a trauma surgeon for him was that you never knew what the day might bring. Some days the emergency room was empty and quiet and all you did was play angry birds all day but some other days you barely even had time to go to the bathroom. Today was the later rather than the former, inside his mind he was thanking his lucky stars that Dr. Swan had volunteered to run the pit for him while he was in surgery. Dr. Swan stood out from most of the inters in his class, she had shown a skill and interest in trauma but lately he feared that she had been swayed over to cardio. He didn’t know what changed her mind to come to trauma but he was certainly glad she was back. 

“Dr. Mills.” David greeted the doctor who seemed like she was also on her way out. “How’s life treating you?” 

“Could be worse.” Regina said with a tight polite smile. “I heard about your patient. The bear attack victim. I’m glad he’s going to be okay.” 

“It was touch and go there for a second.” David said. “I’m sorry I stole your intern but she asked if she could run the pit for me. I was short staffed today so she was a god sent.” 

“My intern?” Regina asked confused. 

“Dr. Swan?” David clarified. “Kathryn mentioned that you claimed her as your own. Which is a little unfair because I saw her first.” 

“That’s where she disappeared to?” Regina said out loud, although the comment was a little bit more for herself than for Dr. Nolan. 

“She told me you said it was fine.” David said. “She really is something else, huh?” 

“Well she certainly is something.” Regina said almost holding back a smile. 

“You should have seen the way she ran the pit today. She did it like an old pro.” David said. “Reminds me a bit of myself.” 

“Please.” Regina said rolling her eyes. “You were an idiot. Not to say that Emma isn’t one, you were just a bigger one.” 

David let out a chuckle. 

“You’re jealous because Dr. Swan prefers me.” David said. 

“We’ll see about that.” Regina said, never backing down when there was a challenge, as she walked away.

“Back in the day you stole Chief Resident right from underneath me.” David said with a shrug. “You can call this revenge.” He called after her. 

 

The shift was finally over and Emma had successfully managed to avoid Regina since that unfortunate moment they shared in the on-call room. Mulan assisted Dr. Nolan to clip an aneurysm and to celebrate she had invited everyone for a drink at The Rabbit Hole. Emma’s plan was simple: stay for a couple of drinks and then head home. She loved the Emergency Room but after the day she had just had she felt every single muscle in her body. 

“Doctor Swan.” Regina said enunciating every syllable making Emma snap out of her thoughts. 

“Dr. Mills.” Emma said avoiding eye contact once the elevator doors closed making the elevator feel more claustrophobic than usual. 

“You didn’t do the rounds I asked you to.” Regina said pointedly. 

“I’m sorry.” Emma said. “I didn’t know if you still wanted me on your service…” 

Regina looked at Emma’s slouched shoulders, she wanted to give her a hard time. No one dared escape her service without permission and lived to tell the tale. A part of her wanted to make an example out of Swan but another part of her couldn’t help but take pity on the poor girl. 

“What you do with your personal life is none of my concern.” Regina said. 

“I’m sorry…” Emma said but the rest of her sentence was interrupted. 

“Stop apologizing.” Regina said. “Tomorrow I expect you early and ready to do your rounds. I want to teach you, Dr. Swan, I do.” She said looking directly into Emma’s eyes. “But I can’t do it if you keep this childish nonsense. It’s up to you.” 

“I’ll be ready tomorrow.” Emma said without hesitation. 

“Good.” Regina said trying to hold back a smirk. 

Ruby sat at the bar with Mulan and Killian, the rest of the team had canceled during the day but when Emma texted her that she was not going to make it the disappointment was obvious in her face. 

“Seriously, you need to tell her, dude.” Mulan said before she downed a shot. “I’m tired of seeing you moon over her like a puppy.” 

“That’s just what I said the other day.” Killian exclaimed happily. 

“Do not even get me started on you.” She said holding a hand up.

“What about me?” He said trying to hide the nervousness in his voice. 

“Nothing.” Mulan said eyeing him curiously. Killian had a reputation with the ladies but Mulan had the strong suspicion that was all for show. Still she was not one to put someone out on the spot like that so she kept her comments to herself.

“I’m not mooning over anyone.” Ruby said before taking her shot. 

“You are.” Mulan and Killian said in unison. 

“Emma and I are friends.” Ruby said. 

“You could be more if you stop being a coward about it.” Mulan said. 

“How would you know?” Ruby asked. 

“I don’t.” Mulan said. “And neither will you if you don’t do something about it.” 

“I’ll take it under advisement.” Ruby said wanting to drop the subject.


	5. Chapter 5

Since their talk in the elevator things between Emma and Regina had been flowing. They made up a pretty excellent team if Regina said so herself. The young woman had proved to be a sponge for knowledge and it seemed like her hands were as fast as her brain. On the days that Emma was needed on someone else’s service Regina missed her. Things were comfortable between them. She wouldn’t dare to call the intern a friend but she didn’t completely hate her presence. 

“I hear that you let your pet scrub into a heart transplant.” Zelena said when she entered the attending lounge and saw her sister sipping her coffee. “Two things: either she is so amazing in bed that she clouded your judgment or you’ve actually gone mad.” 

“She’s very good at what she does.” Regina said with a shrug.

“I bet.” Zelena said wagging her eyebrows.

“Oh, get your mind out of the gutter.” Regina said. “I meant in the OR. For the last time, there is nothing going on between Dr. Swan and I.” 

Zelena had been making all sorts of sordid comments since Emma and Regina started to work more closely together. Regina had explained on multiple occasions that their relationship was purely professional but Zelena refused to buy into that explanation. 

“You know what I’m going to do?” Zelena asked not waiting for a response. “I’m going to steal her for today. See if she’s all that you make her out to be.” 

“Be my guest.” Regina said. “She’s not on my service today.” 

“Trouble in paradise?” Zelena asked. “Who is she with?” 

“Blanchard.” Regina said. The distaste obvious in her voice. 

“It’s cute that you know her rotation schedule.” Zelena said. 

Regina just rolled her eyes before she exited the room. Unbeknownst to Zelena, or Emma for that matter, Regina had personally arranged Emma’s schedule. She knew that for the intern to succeed she needed to get a well-rounded education. When Regina did her residency, she had the opportunity to shadow all the great surgeons of Storybrook Medical before she made her election on Cardio. She knew Emma needed to have the same opportunity. 

“Dr. Swan, it’s so great to have you on my service today.” Mary Margaret said excited.

“It’s great to be here.” Emma said, her own excitement being forced. She wanted to be back on Cardio, it had been a week since she had entered the OR. When she was on Regina’s rotation almost always she scrubbed in and while they operated Regina quizzed her to get her ready for her inter exam which was days away. 

“I’ve heard many wonderful things about you.” Blanchard said. “Have you ever seen an intestinal repair?” 

“No, ma’am.” Emma answered.

“Good.” She said. “Take the day to study on it. We have one scheduled for this afternoon.” 

“You’re letting me scrub in?” Emma asked taken aback. 

“Of course. You’re here to learn, aren’t you?” She asked. “Remember that Peds is not general surgery in miniature. It is its own kind of medicine. Study the journals in the library, study the chart and be ready for action. I expect excellence.” 

“You got it, Dr. Blanchard.” Emma said. 

Maybe Peds was not so bad… 

Emma walked with quick steps as she made her way to the library. There was too much to do and too little time. She needed to learn a whole new procedure in a matter of hours. This was her chance to make a good first impression on Blanchard who much like Regina was Storybrook royalty. They both came from a long line of surgeons. She would’ve never thought that foster kid Emma would be rubbing elbows with the nation’s most elite surgeons. This was an opportunity she could not afford to screw up. 

“Hey, guess what?” Emma said tapping on Regina’s shoulder. 

“What?” Regina asked not taking her eyes out of the chart she was signing off on. 

“Guess who’s scrubbing in an intestinal repair with Blanchard?” Emma asked barely keeping a goofy smile in control. 

“I’m guessing you, dear.” Regina said feigning disinterest. 

“Yeah. Me.” Emma said. “She just handed me the chart and told me to read up on it. Can you believe that?” 

“I can.” Regina said nonchalantly. “I recommended you for it.” 

“You did?” Emma asked her smile falling almost immediately.

“I did.” Regina said.

“Huh.” Emma said as if frozen into place. 

“What are you still doing here?” Regina asked with irritation in her voice. “Don’t you have things to do? I recommended you. Don’t make me look bad.” 

Emma’s feet moved as if possessed by some other force. She didn’t know how to feel about Regina getting her surgeries. She didn’t know whether to be thankful or pissed. She was used to getting things by her own merits. She didn’t need Regina’s charity. For a hot second, she considered backing out of the surgery and asking Ruby to take her place. Ruby had been working with Blanchard much longer than her. Being asked to scrub in a surgery because someone else had gotten it for her made her feel almost dirty. 

“You stole my surgery.” Ruby said slamming her lunch tray on the table. 

The sound caused Emma to take her eyes off the journal that was in her hands. 

“What?” She asked. 

“You stole my goddamned surgery.” Ruby said sitting down opposite to Emma. “Timmy is my patient. I made the initial diagnosis, I been studying for this procedure for days and you stole it right from underneath me.” 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” Emma said. “I’m on Blanchard’s service today and she asked me to scrub in.” 

“It’s not fair.” Ruby said.

“What’s up, lovebirds?” Neal said taking the empty seat next to Ruby. 

“Emma stole my surgery.” Ruby accused. 

“Well well well.” Neal said looking far too pleased with himself. “Look who’s a shark.” 

“I didn’t steal anything.” Emma said. She was not in the mood for Neal today. 

“It’s true. She didn’t.” Neal said looking at Ruby. “Her sugar mama stole it for her.”

“What are you talking about?” Emma asked. 

“Hold on to your seats and pay attention, ladies because it’s story time.” Neal said. “I was paged late last night so I decided to spend the night in the on-call room to be extra early for rounds. I had some time so I went over to the Peds ward to flirt with that cute nurse that’s on the night shift. I know that’s neither here nor there but it’s important to make the note. So, I’m in the Peds ward, and you know who’s there?” He asked, pausing for dramatic effect. “Dr. Mills in the flesh. She’s going on and on with Blanchard. I wasn’t really paying attention until I heard a familiar name. Basically, Mills told Blanchard that if she let Swan scrub in she would owe her one.” 

“You’re lying.” Emma said knowing that he wasn’t lying at all. 

“Fact remains, Rubes.” Neal said ignoring Emma. “In this game, some earn the respect of their attendings to get surgeries and some others sleep their way to the top.” 

“Fuck you, Neal.” Emma said slamming the journal on the table. “You can have the fucking surgery if that’ll make you happy.” 

“Emma, wait.” Ruby called after her. “Good going, asshole.” She said to Neal before he ran over to catch Emma. 

“The truth is a cruel mistress.” Neal said more to himself than to anyone else. 

“Emma, I’m trying to talk to you.” Ruby said after she caught up to Emma. 

“What is there to say, Ruby?” Emma asked furiously pressing the elevator call button. “You wanted your surgery and now you have it.” 

“I don’t want the stupid surgery if it means that you’ll be mad at me.” Ruby said. “Can we at least talk about this?”

“No.” Emma said getting into the elevator hoping to be left alone. 

“Emma, please.” Ruby said pleading with her eyes and following her into the elevator. 

“There’s nothing to say.” Emma said. “You think I’m fucking for surgeries. I thought we were friends.” 

“I never said that and you know it.” Ruby said. “I think that it was a dick move that you stole my surgery simply because you’re The Evil Queen’s favorite. I worked very hard to earn Blanchard’s trust, I know Timmy and his family, he is my patient, Emma. I get that you’re super competitive, I respect that but this is my career too and you should respect that.” 

“I get it.” Emma said. “I’ll tell Blanchard that I can’t do the surgery. You can have it. I don’t want it.” 

“You can’t seriously be mad.” Ruby said. 

“I’m not.” Emma said getting out of the elevator desperate for some quiet space. 

“Emma…?” Regina called into the pitch dark on-call room. 

Regina had gone to the gallery to watch Emma’s surgery when much to her surprise Dr. Lucas was standing in what was supposed to be Emma’s place. She had noticed that after long days Emma liked to sneak off to an old, almost abandoned on-call room so she decided to look for her there. 

“What?” Emma replied letting out a groan.  
“Are you okay?” Regina asked closing the door behind her. 

“I’m peachy.” Emma said sitting up on the bed so she could face Regina even though due to the darkness of the room she was barely able to distinguish between the shapes of her face.

“What’s wrong?” Regina asked. “You’re supposed to be in the OR right now.”

“You told Blanchard that I should scrub in.” Emma said in an accusatory tone. 

“Yes, I did.” Regina said.

Emma took a deep breath as she ran her hands through her hair. 

“I don’t need you to set up surgeries for me.” Emma said. 

“You have a funny way of saying thank you.” Regina said. 

“You asked Blanchard to put me in the OR and now Ruby thinks I tried to steal her surgery.” Emma said. “She is so mad at me.” She said more for herself than for Regina. 

“I’m sorry if your girlfriend is mad at you.” Regina said feeling a surge if anger run through her body. “But there comes a time when you have to decide what comes first. Your girlfriend or your career. What I did today was a favor to you. You should be so thankful that I even bothered.” 

“You shouldn’t have.” Emma said. “Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for myself, by myself. I’ve work so hard to become the doctor I know I’m supposed to be and now everyone thinks I’m getting ahead just because I’m fucking you.”

“Who is saying that?” Regina asked mentally cursing her sister and her big mouth. 

“Everyone.” Emma said. “Neal sure thinks so and by now half the hospital is thinking the same thing.” 

“Neal?” Regina asked not being able to put a face to the name. 

“Dr. Cassidy.” Emma clarified.

“Don’t know him.” Regina brushed off. 

“And what’s worse it’s that now Ruby thinks so too.” Emma said.

“So, your girlfriend thinks you’re cheating on her.” Regina asked. “You’re lucking she didn’t catch you before with all your sneaking around with the nurses.” She read the look of surprise on Emma’s face. “You’re not as slick as you think you are.”

“Ruby is not my girlfriend.” Emma said letting out a breath full of frustration. “She’s my best friend. She’s the best friend I’ve ever had. I hate that I hurt her and what’s worse I hate that she thinks that I did it on purpose.” 

“I’m sorry, Dr. Swan.” Regina said changing her tone. “If I stepped a boundary today.”

“Why did you do it?” Emma asked stepping closer to Regina. 

“I see so much potential in you.” Regina said. “You’re very talented and I want to see you succeed. I’ve grown…appreciative of you. I was merely nudging you in the right direction.” 

“I don’t mean to be ungrateful.” Emma said. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me but I don’t like handouts.” 

“It won’t happen again.” Regina said. 

Emma took a step closer. 

“The attendings think so too, you know?” Emma said. 

“Think what, dear?” Regina asked. 

“That we’re sleeping together.” Emma said. “I heard Dr. West talking about it the other day.” 

“My sister is a blabber mouth.” Regina said. “You can’t take anything she says to heart.” 

“Would it be so bad?” Emma asked gently resting her hand behind Regina’s neck before she slowly stroked her cheek with her thumb. 

“Emma…” Regina said her eyes softly closing. Emma was so close she felt her breath. 

Emma thought to herself that it was now or never. She hesitantly rested her forehead on Regina’s before she closed the gap between them with her lips. The kiss was slow and unsure at first. Emma was ready for Regina to pull away at any moment and slap her but that moment never came. Instead Regina pulled Emma closer to her by the hem of her scrub top. Emma took the gesture as permission to deepen the kiss almost moaning into Regina’s mouth. One of Regina’s hand slipped under Emma’s top feeling the smoothness of her defined abs. 

“We can’t.” Regina said pulling away when Emma attempted to pull her shirt off. “We can’t.”

“I’m sorry.” Emma asked confused. “Did I misread this situation?” 

“You didn’t.” Regina said brushing her thumb on Emma’s lips. “I want to do this. I do. You are…very attractive. But I am your superior, I’m supposed to be teaching you.” 

“You can still teach me.” Emma said attempting to get Regina close to her again. 

“I’m sorry.” Regina said freeing herself from Emma’s grasp. “I can’t do this.”


	6. Chapter 6

When Ruby got into the locker room that morning she was surprised to find a Post-It with a still steaming cup of coffee inside. The note read: “I’m sorry.” She’d recognize that scribble anywhere. Ruby knew that the whole drama over the surgery wasn’t entirely Emma’s fault. She hated to be at odds with Emma. They had become friends their first day in the hospital. Both fresh out of Medical School with something to prove. Ruby had come from humble beginnings. She was raised by her grandmother who owned a small diner in Maine. Her mother had her at seventeen and ran off with her lover shortly after she was born. Emma was never one to talk about her family but she said enough for her to assume that Emma didn’t come from a wealthy family like most of their classmates.

“We’re good.” Ruby said rolling her eyes when she saw Emma eyeing her from her locker. 

“Are you sure?” Emma said before she slipped on her scrub top. 

“Yes.” Ruby said. “I’m sorry too.” 

“So, we’re all good then?” Emma asked with some hesitation on her voice. 

“We’re good.” Ruby said with a smile. 

“Cassidy, you’re with Nolan.” French’s voice echoed through the room. “Jones, you’re with Blanchard. Lucas, you’re with the Evil Queen herself, good luck with that.” She said adding the last sentence under her breath. “Swan, you’re with West. Last but not least, Wu, you’re with the Chief. Good luck today, guys. You’re going to need it.”

“Fuck…” Mulan said.

“You’re screwed.” Emma said trying her best to sound sympathetic. After the stunt, she had pulled the day before she sent a silent prayer giving thanks that she was not on Regina’s service for the day. 

“Yeah…” Mulan said. “Good luck in the gyno squad, Swan.” 

“You’ll be on our thoughts.” Killian said. 

“I appreciate it.” Mulan said before she left the room. 

“Guess I’m with Dr. Mills today.” Ruby said to Emma who was closing her locker door. “Any tips for me?” 

“Don’t mess up the charts and you’ll be good for the day.” Emma said. “Also, double check the post-ops.” 

“You got it.” Ruby said. 

“Page me if you need anything.” Emma said before she made her way to Dr. West’s ward. 

Neal took a step closer to Ruby. 

“You’re in love.” He said in a sing song voice. 

“Shut up.” Ruby said not feeling like dealing with Neal. 

“Dr. Swan.” Zelena said feigning surprise. 

“Dr. West.” Emma said. “I was assigned to your service.” 

“I know.” Zelena said rolling her eyes. “I have a patient on room four that’s about to give birth. Keep an eye for her. Page me when she’s crowning.” 

“That’s all?” Emma asked confused. She loathed being on gyno duty. When she was on Dr. West’s service it seemed that all she did was babysit patients without even being on the OR when they give birth. 

“Is waiting for the miracle of life not enough for you?” Zelena asked. 

“No, I didn’t mean…” Emma flustered. 

“Please do shut up.” Zelena asked. “Keep an eye on the patient on room four and please don’t kill anyone while I’m in surgery.” 

“You got it, Dr. West.” Emma said trying her best to smile brightly. 

“Get to work.” Zelena barked. 

Today was going to be a long, long day. She hated being on Dr. West’s service. She never got OR time and nothing too exciting ever happened. She just had to suck it up for the day and hopefully tomorrow she’ll have better luck with her attending. 

 

For Emma, the day went slowly. Dr. West led her department in such a way that everything took care of it by itself. It seemed like every nurse and every doctor under Dr. West knew exactly what their job was and executed it perfectly, there was very little for Emma to do. It was very hard to believe that Zelena and Regina were sisters. Physically, they did not resemble each other and the way they managed their respective departments was completely different. Regina had a good grip on what everyone under her command was going, she wasn’t one to delegate willingly. Zelena on the other hand, seemed to only take care of the cutting; she seemed to care very little for the administrative duties that her title entailed. 

“Hey.” Regina said when she got into the elevator and saw Emma there. 

“Hi.” Emma said. “How’s your day going?”  
“Well…” Regina said. “Considering I have an inept intern to deal with and a thousand surgeries scheduled for today. How’s yours?” 

Regina spoke to her so casually that it seemed like yesterday hadn’t happened. Regina was acting like the moment they shared never happened. A part of Emma was grateful but the other part of her couldn’t help but feel puzzled. 

“It’s fine.” Emma said. 

Regina looked at her watch. 

“You waiting for someone?” Emma asked trying her best to sound casual. 

“My son.” Regina said. “He’s about to get out of school. If I’m lucky I’ll see him today before his bedtime. Seeing how my day is going, I’ll say it’s unlikely I see him before he goes to school in the morning.” 

“You have a son?” Emma asked. “I didn’t know that.” 

How was it that in the months that they’ve been working together Emma knew so little about her life? The most personal information about Dr. Mills that Emma could think about was the fact that her mother used to be the Chief of Cardio Surgery before Regina took over and that her sister was Zelena West. Besides that, Regina was a complete mystery to her. 

“I do.” Regina said giving her a side smile. 

“What’s his name?” Emma asked. 

“Henry.” Regina said. 

“How old is he?” Emma asked. 

“About to be ten.” Regina said. 

“Ten huh?” Emma said. “How old are you?” She asked before she could help herself to stop the words coming out of her mouth. 

“What’s it to you?” Regina asked taken aback by the sudden question. 

“I’m just trying to make conversation.” Emma said with a shrug.

“Well, stop.” Regina said. 

The elevator doors opened and Regina got off without another word. 

Emma could not believe how casual Regina was acting. She was sure there was going an awkward air between them. She wasn’t used to being rejected in the way that Regina had rejected her yesterday. She needed answers.

“How old do you think Dr. Mills is?” Emma asked Ruby as they sat down to eat lunch in the cafeteria. 

“I don’t know…” Ruby said. 

Mulan sat down besides Emma and started eating her lunch without uttering a word. 

“Hey, Wu.” Emma said. “How old do you think Dr. Mills is?” 

“I don’t know.” Mulan said letting the question run through her brain for a second. “Late thirties for sure. Back when my dad was Chief I was in high school and I remember Dr. Mills being an intern here. Back then her husband was a nurse. Daniel, RIP.” 

“What?” Emma asked. 

“What, what?” Mulan asked.

“Dr. Mills was married?” Ruby asked. “To a nurse?” 

“Yeah.” Mulan said like she was stating the obvious. “She wasn’t always Dr. Mills, back then she was Dr. West. She married Daniel Mills, a surgical nurse. He died of a heart attack, tragic considering Dr. Mills’ specialty.” 

“He had a heart condition?” Ruby asked. “How did she not know?” 

“I don’t know, Rubes.” Mulan said. “It’s just one of those cases where a disease goes undiagnosed. He had a full heart attack, the Chief himself tried to bring him back but he was far too gone. Dr. Mills was in the OR at the time, no one told her until she got out. She was devastated. She was left without a husband and her son was left without a father. Everyone was ready for her to lose it. She took a few weeks off and then came back to work as if nothing was out of place. Crazy if you ask me.” 

“Everyone has their own coping mechanisms.” Ruby said. 

“How do you know all of this, anyway?” Emma asked. 

“I grew up in this hospital, Swan.” Mulan said rolling her eyes. “My dad was Chief for twenty years. I know everyone here and I’m up to date with all the gossip.” 

“It’s fucked up.” Ruby said. “To lose the person you love just like that. Without any warning. And then having a son to think about…It’s a lot.” 

“That’s the way life works, Rubes.” Emma said.

Emma was casually strolling by the cardiothoracic department. She had very little to do for the rest of the day so she went to Regina’s department hoping to bump into her. If questioned, she always had the excuse of looking for Ruby. Everyone in the hospital knew they were tied at the hips so no one would ever question her motives of being up in the Cardio ward without being assigned to Regina’s service. 

“Can I help you, Dr. Swan?” Regina asked sounding irritated when she saw Emma looking around in her floor. “Aren’t you supposed to be somewhere else?” 

“I was just looking for a friend.” Emma said trying to sound nonchalant. 

“I can assure you, your friend is busy.” Regina said. “Try being annoying someplace else. People are too busy practicing medicine here.” 

“How old are you?” Emma asked seemingly out of nowhere. 

“Again, with that?” Regina asked amused. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-five.” Emma answered almost immediately.

“Oh God.” Regina said. “You’re a child.” 

“You weren’t saying that last night.” Emma said softly leaning into Regina’s side. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dr. Swan.” Regina said taking a step away from Emma. 

“Can we talk?” Emma asked looking around to make sure no one was watching them.

Regina made a gesture with her eyes and started walking over to her office. Emma knew without Regina needing to say a word what she meant. Emma followed her to her office, once inside she made sure to lock the door just in case.

“Why don’t’ I know anything about you?” Emma asked after she locked the door. 

“You never asked.” Regina said sitting down on the sofa that, more than anything, served to adorn the office. “I don’t know anything about you either.” 

“Well you haven’t asked.” Emma said mocking Regina’s earlier tone. She took a seat next to Regina. 

“Where are you from?” Regina asked. 

“Boston.” Emma answered quickly. “Where are you from?” 

“Maine.” Regina said rolling her eyes. “I thought that was obvious.” 

“You can never be too sure.” Emma said. 

“Are your parents still in Boston?” Regina asked. 

“No.” Emma said. 

“Where are they?” Regina asked, finding that she did wanted to know about Emma’s life outside of work. 

“Don’t know.” Emma said. “I was found by the side of the road when I was a baby. I was in the system until I went to college. I’ve never met my parents.” 

“Oh.” Regina said. “Do you think you’ll meet them someday?” 

“No.” Emma said letting out a sigh. “I don’t think so. When I was little that’s all I thought about. I wanted to meet them so bad. But now as an adult I kind of don’t want to. I mean, if they left their child by the side of the road, what kind of people could they be? Certainly, not someone I would want to be close with.” 

“I understand.” Regina said looking at Emma who was fidgeting with the hem of her scrub top. 

“Yeah, I don’t care anymore.” Emma said. “I’m a doctor, I’m almost a surgeon. They didn’t want me and that’s their loss. Because how cool would it be to have a daughter that’s a surgeon?” 

“Very cool, I would imagine.” Regina said letting out a small chuckle. “My mother is a heart surgeon as well. She’s not that impressed by my work.” 

“What about your dad?” Emma asked. 

“He died before I got into medical school.” Regina said. “So, I’ll never know.” 

“I bet your son is super impressed by you.” Emma said lightly brushing Regina’s hand. 

“Some days I think he is.” Regina said. “Other days I think he resents the long shifts and the absent nights.” 

“How old were you when you had him?” Emma asked trying her best to sound casual.

“You’re still trying to figure out my age.” Regina said letting a low laugh. “To save you the trouble…I’m thirty-eight.” 

“I knew it.” Emma said with a smirk. 

“I’m too old for you, Emma Swan.” Regina said caressing the side of Emma’s cheek. 

“Wanna bet?” Emma said pulling Regina closer to her. 

Without any waring Regina closed the gap between them. Their lips met without hesitation. Emma’s hands traveled to Regina’s backside pulling her to her lap. She slid her hand under her scrub top needing to feel Regina’s skin without any barriers. 

The sound of a pager rang through the room making them jump apart. 

“Duty calls.” Regina said standing from Emma’s lap, looking at her pager. 

“Rain check?” Emma asked trying not to sound too hopeful. 

“Maybe.” Regina said with a wink before leaving.


	7. Chapter 7

Volunteering at the clinic was something Emma never thought she would enjoy doing. Today was her second day on Dr. West’s service and since the whole department was slow on surgeries, she decided to do some work at the clinic. The clinic was her secret weapon, while she had the chance to give back to the community she also had the opportunity to practice for her intern exam. Her residency depends on that one exam so it’s fair to say that she’s feeling the pressure. 

“Who’s next?” Emma asked the nurse while she was handed a chart. 

“Bed five.” The nurse said. “She’s here at least once a week. I’m thinking a hardcore hypochondriac. If I were you I would take whatever she says with a grain of salt.” 

“Thank you.” Emma said. “I’ll make a note of that.” 

“Mrs. Swan?” Emma asked. “What a coincidence. I’m Dr. Swan.” She said with a smile. 

“Oh, really?” Mrs. Swan said looking at Emma as if she were studying her face. 

Emma was taken aback by the expression on Mrs. Swan’s face. 

“How are you feeling today, Mrs. Swan?” Emma asked 

“Call me Betty. Please.” She said. “I’ve been coughing a lot lately. I have some headaches as well.” 

“Let’s take a look, okay?” Emma said taking the stethoscope out of her lab coat. 

After checking her breathing and taking her vitals Emma couldn’t find a thing wrong with the patient, she was starting to think that the nurse was right. Before brushing the patient off she still needed to make sure she covered all her bases. 

“What do you do for a living, Betty?” Emma asked. 

“I’m a teacher.” Betty said. “Elementary school.”

“Ah, that might be the cause of those headaches.” Emma said with a smile. “As of the persisting cough, I will prescribe you some medicine you can get over the counter at the pharmacy in the second floor. But your lungs sound clear and you seem to me to be as healthy as a horse.” 

“Thank you, doctor.” Betty said as if in a trance. 

Emma took another look at Betty.

“I’m sorry, but have we met before?” Emma asked. “I feel like I know you from somewhere.” 

“You do?” Betty asked. 

“I do.” Emma said. “Tell you what, Betty, if you ever need anything else you can tell the nurse on call to page me directly. My name is Emma, Emma Swan.” 

“Emma.” Betty said. 

“Yeah.” Emma said. “I’ll leave you now so you can go ahead and get that medicine. If you ever need anything else, you know where to contact me.” 

“I will.” Betty said. 

Emma went over to the desk to finish the chart but something about Betty felt off. She wondered if maybe she should’ve paged someone from psych. She was sure she had met that woman before she just couldn’t remember where. 

“Who paged me?” Regina demanded effectively taking Emma out of her own head. 

“Uh, Nurse Marcy did.” Emma said. “Patient on bed three, we need a cardio consult.” 

“And you couldn’t find anyone else?” Regina asked. “I don’t do clinic patients. I have enough patients as is.”

“I’m sorry. I wanted your expertise.” Emma said with a smile. “You’re the best cardio surgeon here.” 

“I know I am.” Regina said with an eye roll. “Flattery will get you nowhere.” 

“Can you at least look at the chart?” Emma asked. 

“I don’t have time for this.” Regina said. 

“Please?” Emma asked. 

“Hand me the chart.” Regina said. After a few minutes and few probing questions Regina handed Emma the chart back. “Refer them to a cardiologist, this is not surgical. What it is, is a complete waste of my time.” 

“Not a complete waste of time.” Emma said. “I have another question for you.” 

“Is it surgical?” Regina asked. 

“Not really.” Emma said. “It’s more of a personal matter.” 

Regina’s eyes opened like a pair of saucers before she looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to their conversation. 

“Is-is this something that should be discussing here?” Regina asked with unlikely hesitation.

“No, it’s about a patient I just had.” Emma said. 

“Oh.” Regina said. “Then I don’t care. If it’s not surgical do not page me. Much less if it’s for the clinic of all places.” 

“Wow, didn’t know you were such a snob.” Emma said. 

“Watch it, doctor.” Regina said menacingly before she walked away.

 

The patients were coming in but things weren’t crazy like sometimes they were in the emergency room. Obviously, the emergency room was way more exciting and the chance of her catching a surgical case was more likely but there was something fulfilling about the clinic. Most of the patients did not have any insurance and their only access to medical services was during the hours that the clinic was opened. Emma by no means wanted to give up surgery for the clinic but she figured that not everything in life was about cutting, on some days practicing good old medicine was okay too. 

“Hey there, dreamboat.” Ruby said as she pulled a chair to sit next to Emma. “Busy day?” 

“Not really.” Emma said. “Dr. West didn’t have anything for me today so I’m here. What about you?”

“I’m just about done for the day.” Ruby said. “Clipped an aneurysm with Nolan. She was so kick ass today. I want to be just like her when I grow up.” 

“Sounds like someone has a crush.” Emma sang. 

“What can I say? I have a thing for blonds.” Ruby shrugged. 

Emma chuckled. 

“I’ll be sure to make a note of that.” She said. 

“What do you say, Swan? Want to get out of here and grab a few drinks?” Ruby asked. 

“Are you hitting on me, Dr. Lucas?” Emma asked jokingly. 

“Maybe…” Ruby said. “Depends on how drunk you get me, Dr. Swan.” 

Before she answered she looked at her watch. She wanted to get drinks with Ruby but she remembered that Dr. Nolan was running the graveyard shift for the ER, if she played her cards right she could catch a nap in an on-call room and then see if she could scrub into a late-night surgery. 

“I have the ER after this. Some other time?” Emma asked. 

“I’m holding you to it, Swan.” Ruby said. 

“I’ll make it up to you.” Emma planted a quick kiss on Ruby’s forehead before she headed for the on-call room to take that nap while she still had the chance.

 

 

Regina entered the on-call room and closed the door behind her with a slam that echoed through the room. 

“I’m not a snob.” She argued effectively waking Emma from a hesitant sleep. 

“What?” Emma asked sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. 

“I’m not a snob.” Regina said. “I’m practical which is very different.” 

“Okay.” Emma said laying back down on the mattress. 

Regina sat down roughly shaking Emma awake. 

“What?” Emma asked. 

“What was the case you wanted to discuss?” Regina asked. 

“Forget about it.” Emma said. 

“No.” Regina said laying down with Emma. “I want to help.” 

“It wasn’t a surgical case.” Emma said. “It wasn’t cardio related either.” 

Regina tucked a stray lock of hair behind Emma’s ear. It’s true that Emma was rough around the edges but she was also undeniably beautiful. 

“What was it then?” Regina asked. 

“Like I said, it was nothing.” Emma said. “I just wanted a second opinion, that was all.” 

“I’m sorry if I was rude earlier.” Regina said. “It’s been a busy week. I’m short staffed and I can’t afford to take any more patients.” 

“It’s okay.” Emma said her eyes closing again. 

Regina traced her fingers across Emma’s delicate face. 

“Emma…” Regina uttered softly before pressing her lips against the blond. 

The kiss was so soft and slow that it could almost be considered tender. It was significantly different from all the other kisses they had shared before. Where others were needy and rushed this one was patient and explorative. 

“I want to touch you.” Emma said barely audible. “Can I touch you?” 

“Touch me.” Regina said guiding Emma’s hand to where she needed it. 

Emma slipped down Regina’s scrub pants while the brunette shed off her own top. 

“I wanted this for so long.” Emma said before she nipped at Regina’s neck. 

“Me too.” Regina moaned as she tugged on Emma’s shirt. 

“Really?” Emma muttered against her neck. 

“You have no idea.” Regina said bunching Emma’s top on her hands. “Take this off.” 

 

“Where the hell have you been?” Zelena called as she jogged to Regina. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” 

Regina felt her sister’s hand on her arm. She needed to get Zelena out of the hallway as soon as possible. Any minute now Emma will come out of the on-call room with matching disheveled hair and it won’t be long before her sister connects the obvious dots. 

“I was…” Regina struggled. “Busy.” 

“With what?” Zelena asked. 

“I was…” 

Regina’s train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a door closing. The sound was loud enough to catch Zelena’s attention. Emma came out of the room struggling to smooth out with her hands the wrinkles in her scrub top. When she looked up from her top she saw Zelena and Regina staring in her direction. 

“Dr. Mills, Dr. West.” Emma said trying to sound as nonchalant as possible as she passed them by without making any eye contact. 

“Oh my God.” Zelena said. “You little slut.” 

“Zelena, please.” Regina said cursing internally. 

“I didn’t think you had it in you.” Zelena admitted. 

“Nothing happened.” Regina said. 

“After this consult, you’re about to do for me you’re going to tell me all the details.” Zelena said linking arms with Regina. 

“I can’t take any more patients.” Regina said. “Page someone else.” 

“Oh, you’ll do this consult and you’ll take my patient if necessary.” Zelena said. “That is if you want me to keep your dirty little secret.” 

“You never change, do you?” Regina said letting out a sigh in defeat. 

“No.” Zelena said with a shrug. “I have to tell you, props on owning the whole MILF thing.” 

“Fuck off.” Regina said shoving Zelena away.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Killian was running through the hospital hallways like a chicken without a head. He looked for Neal everywhere but he was nowhere to be found, then he looked for Ruby but she was in surgery with Dr. Midas, his only hope was to find Emma and have her take a look to his current predicament. 

“Emma.” He said breathing a sigh of relief. He was lucky that Emma wasn’t in the OR. 

She turned around at the sound of her name surprised to see Killian standing behind her trying to catch his breath. 

“I need a consult.” Killian said. 

“What do you have?” Emma asked weary. 

Killian was never one to ask Emma for help. They had never particularly gotten along but she didn’t hate the guy either so she decided to take pity on him and help out. 

“Follow me, please.” Killian said as he dragged her to the supply closet nearby. 

Once the door was closed, without any warning or hesitation Killian dropped his pants and underwear. His penis showed a tell-tale rash. 

“Killian, what the fuck?” Emma called. “Put that thing away.” 

“I need you to take a look at it.” Killian said. “Is this what I think it is?”

Emma took a closer look to confirm her diagnosis. 

“This is so gross.” Emma said resisting the urge to dry heave. “You have a nasty case of the syph, buddy.”

“Oh God.” Killian almost cried as he pulled his pants up. 

“You’ll need a shot of penicillin.” Emma said. “If I were you I would run to the clinic.”

Killian tried to steady himself. He was living an actual nightmare. 

“Can you do it?” He begged. 

Emma looked at her watch. She had a few minutes before Dr. Nolan got out of surgery, she already did rounds so she had some time to kill. 

“Come on.” Emma said leading the way to the clinic. 

 

 

Emma closed the curtains while Killian prepped himself on the bed. Emma snapped on some gloves before she got to work. 

“This might hurt a little.” She said guiding the needle to Killian’s buttcheek. 

The curtain was pulled opened.

“Hey, syph boy.” Mulan said holding back a chuckle. 

“You told her?” Killian said looking back at Emma who was finishing up with the injection. 

“I didn’t say anything to Wu.” Emma said holding up her hands. 

Mulan sat on the bed looking way too pleased for herself for Killian’s liking. There was no way he was going to live this down. He was sure Mulan will never allow him to forget this shameful moment in the chain of tragic events that was his life. 

“Ruby told me.” Mulan said. “I had to come see it for myself.” 

“Who told Ruby?” Killian asked. 

As if summoned, at that moment Ruby appeared from behind the curtain with a huge grin on her face. 

“This is too good.” Ruby said outright laughing at Killian. “I’m so glad you texted me, Ems”

That earned Emma a glared from Killian. “Your bedside manner needs improvement.” 

 

 

“The interns are morons.” Kathryn Nolan proclaimed as she entered the attendings lounge.

Like almost every other morning the lounge was filled with the usual suspects. Regina was brewing her own brand of overpriced coffee, Zelena was eying he newspaper and David was going through his phone. Ever since residency they carried the same habits with them.

“What did they do now?” Regina asked taking a sip from her cup of coffee. 

“There’s a syphilis outbreak in the hospital thanks to those idiots.” Kathryn said. 

The news made Regina almost spill her coffee. The moment she had shared with Emma a few week ago had not been an isolated event. Each time they met she vowed to herself that it would be the last time but each time Emma had managed to suck her back in without much of a fight from her end.

“How do you know?” Regina asked trying her best to keep her composure.

“So far two interns and three nurses and four attendings have the syph.” Kathryn said as she took a seat next to her husband. “They’re a plague. Thank God I’m happily married.” 

“That’s true.” David said standing up abruptly. “I have to run, doctors. Emergency in the pit.” 

David all but ran out of the room leaving everyone baffled. 

“What’s got his panties in a bunch?” Zelena asked. 

“Who know? He’s been acting so weird lately.” Kathryn said. 

Regina sat down her cup of coffee. “I have to run too.” 

“What’s got her panties in a bunch?” Kathryn asked. 

“She’s sleeping with an intern.” Zelena said without taking her eyes from the newspaper in her hands. 

 

 

All the surgical staff was gathered around in the lobby. Chief Gold stood on the top of the stairs not unlike a king looking over his kingdom. Dr. Gold wasn’t a physically big man but his stature was imposing. He was unapproachable and when he talked to all his staff at the same time you knew that someone was getting the ax. 

People were whispering about the reason for the general meeting. Since early in the morning the cases of syphilis had spread throughout the whole surgical ward. Interns, nurses and even attendings had rushed to the clinic looking for treatment. 

“It’s been brought to my attention that a certain sexually transmitted disease has spread all through my ward.” Dr. Gold started. “The fact that highly trained health care professionals are spreading the disease leaves a lot to be desired. As of today, I am personally enforcing a rule that everyone that is involved with another employee of this hospital needs to report it and they need to get tested. We’re professionals here, people, try to keep it in your pants while on the clock or you will be penalized.” He took a deep breath. “You can go back to work now.” 

 

 

Emma stood in line with Mulan and Ruby. The whole process sucked but at least they had each other to keep company. Anyone looking in from the outside would’ve thought that at least half the Hospital was a potential victim of the latest outbreak. 

“Who are you sleeping with?” Emma asked surprised to see Ruby making the line with them.

“No one, I’m here for moral support.” Ruby said. “And for the gossip. Who are you sleeping with?” She asked trying to keep her tone casual. 

“Half the nursing staff.” Mulan answered in Emma’s stead earning herself a glare from the blond. 

“What are you doing here?” Emma asked. “I thought you had a rule of not getting involved in the hospital.” 

“I broke the rule.” Mulan said. 

“Who with?” Ruby asked. 

“None of your business.” Mulan answered. 

Ruby was looking around the clinic in case she recognized a familiar face. She couldn’t believe the amount of people in line. The hospital was truly turning out to be a cesspool. 

“Look whose here.” Ruby said pointing out to Regina who in turn seemed to be searching for someone. 

“Who do you think she’s sleeping with?” Mulan asked. 

“Come on, that’s none of our business. She’s our boss.” Emma said. 

When Regina finally found Emma’s face in the multitude she took a steadying breath and walked right over. “Dr. Swan, could I have a moment of your time? I need you to clarify some notations you made on a chart.” 

“Yeah, sure.” Emma said. 

“I’m not holding the place for you, Swan.” Mulan called after her. 

 

 

“You wanted to talk?” Emma asked once they were in the privacy of a supply closet. 

“Have you been sleeping with anyone else?” Regina asked deciding that this was not the time to play coy. 

“I-uh,” Emma stumbled. 

Regina waved a hand to save Emma the trouble of coming up with a story. 

“I’m not looking for exclusivity, dear.” Regina said. “I want to know in case I need to be downstairs making the line.” 

“You don’t.” Emma said simply. 

“Why were you there?” Regina asked even if she already suspected the answer. It was no secret to her that Emma seemed to have a weakness for the female nursing staff, she was aware of her extra-curricular activities before she decided to get involved. 

“I wasn’t sure on your end.” Emma said with a shrug. “I figured it was best safe than sorry.” 

“You don’t have to worry on my end.” Regina said. 

A hesitant smirk adorned Emma’s features. 

“So, I’m the only one?” She asked. 

“For now.” Regina said, now it was her turn to smirk. 

“For now?” Emma asked with a slight frown. 

“Emma…” Regina said taking a step closer to Emma caressing her cheek with an unusual tenderness. “I enjoy what we do together, I do. You are amazing and an unbelievably talented surgeon…” 

“I sense a but coming up.” Emma said. 

“But..” Regina said stressing the word. “You’re just barely coming into your own, a relationship is not viable between us. You know that.”

“So, what?” Emma asked fidgeting. “You want to stop?” 

“I don’t.” Regina said. “I want to keep doing this as long as we’re clear that this is nothing more than a casual fling.”

“Okay.” Emma said taking a step back. 

“Okay?” Regina asked back. 

“Yeah, it’s cool.” Emma said. “I’m totally cool with keeping it casual. Casual is my thing. Like I’m the best at being casual. Casual is my middle name.” 

“Are you certain?” Regina asked. 

“Of course, Dr. Mills.” Emma said reaching for the door. “I have to run now, I have things to do. Doctor things to do.” 

 

 

Emma was in the ortho wing breaking old caskets with a hammer so furiously that sweat was starting to drip from her forehead. She didn’t know why she was so angry. It’s not like she was expecting something serious to come out of her thing with Regina. They were having fun, she knew that and Emma had never been the relationship type, she knew that was well. But there was something about Regina that made her want more. Just when she started coming to grips with that fact, the fact that she wanted Regina, she goes ahead and pulls this shit. She knew that Regina was way out of her league anyway but it still stung to hear it out loud. 

 

 

“So, you’re sleeping with the intern…” Kathryn said to Regina from across the operating table. 

The statement was enough to almost make her hands stop while she was hands deep in the patient’s chest cavity. 

“Your secret is safe with me.” Kathryn added. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Regina said coolly. 

“Don’t play coy with me, Regina. We know each other too well.” Kathryn said. “Can’t say I blame you. If I played for your team I would’ve probably gone for Hot Intern too. She’s the least moronic of the lot of interns.” 

“I do not wish to discuss my personal life while trying to save the life of another.” Regina said. 

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Kathryn said. “She’s hot, you’re hot. I’m all for hot people banging.”

“Dr. Nolan…” Regina said exhausted. 

“I’m happy for you, Regina.” Kathryn said through her mask a smile was obvious. “You’re finally getting back out there. Moving on is healthy.” 

“I’m not moving on.” Regina said seriously. “I will never move on. Emma is easy and fun, she is not Daniel’s replacement.” 

“No one said that.” Kathryn said. “Easy and fun is just what you need right now and that’s okay.” 

“I truly do not wish to talk about this right now.” Regina said while she sutured the heart. “Or ever for that matter.” 

“I can respect that.” Kathryn said. “One more thing: for whatever it’s worth, I like Emma, I think she might be good for you as crazy as it sounds.” 

“I like her too.” Regina said smiling under her mask. “For whatever’s worth.” 

She hadn’t lied when she said that Emma was easy and fun. Whenever she was alone with Emma she didn’t have to worry about being the perfect mother or the perfect doctor, she could just be herself and not worry about the outside world. Emma made her laugh with all her misplaced lewd jokes. There was something special about the younger woman and she wanted to keep her around at least for a while longer.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Sorry for the delay. Life and work have been crazy. I do promise an other update soon. Thank you for all your kind messages. I really appreciate them. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

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Chapter 9: 

“Today is the day, people.” Dr. French announced as she entered the locker room. “I came to wish you the best of luck on your exam. Hopefully in this past year you’ve learn a thing or two enough to pass the test and become residents. I want to congratulate most of you on a job well done. You kept your messiness to a minimum and didn’t make me look too bad in front of my attendings. I look forward to all of you passing the exam so I can stop babysitting you.” 

“Thank you, Dr. French.” Ruby said. 

“You’re very welcome, Dr. Lucas.” Dr. French said. “I’ll leave you so you can finish getting ready. Do not be late.” 

As Belle French left the room Ruby turned to the rest of her colleagues. 

“Are you guys ready?” She asked them. 

“I was born ready, sweetheart.” Neal said. “I’m going to kill this exam.” 

“I wasn’t talking to you, syph boy number two.” Ruby said rolling her eyes. 

“You hurt me.” Neal said. 

“If I fail my life is going to end.” Killian said with a groan. 

“You won’t fail.” Emma said. “Maybe you won’t get a high score like Rubes and I, but you won’t fail.” 

“I want to throw up.” Mulan said resting her face against the cool surface of her locker. 

“You guys need to relax.” Emma said. “We got this. We trained for this. We’re passing this exam and we’re going to stop being at the end of the surgical food chain.” 

“We’ve been kicking ass, we’re passing.” Ruby said doing her best to sound confident. 

“That’s right.” Emma said giving her a high five. 

 

 

Emma was stretching out her muscles in an empty hallway near the examination room. She was about to spend the better part of her day sitting down with an exam that could make or break the start of her surgical career. She was bent down trying to touch the tip of her fingers with the tip of her toes when she heard someone coming up the hallway. 

“Can’t say I hate the view.” Regina said making Emma stand up and turn around. 

“What are you doing here?” Emma asked a smile involuntarily adorning her face.

“I came to wish you good luck.” She said taking a step closer to Emma. 

“Thank you, Dr. Mills.” Emma said. “Your wishes are greatly appreciated.” 

Regina took Emma by the hand guiding her against the wall. 

“I also came to give you some encouragement…” Regina said locking eyes with her. 

“Is that so?” Emma asked unable to look away from Regina’s eyes.

Regina leaned so close that Emma could feel Regina’s breath in her ear. “I have a surprise for you under my scrubs. Do your best and you’ll get to enjoy it.” 

“I will.” Emma said letting a hand rest on Regina’s waist. 

“You got this, Emma.” Regina said setting her hand behind Emma’s neck. “I know you do.”

“I got it.” Emma said feeling way more confident than she did a few minutes ago. 

Regina leaned forward to press her lips against Emma. She knew that they were standing in an open space where at any given minute anyone could walk in and catch them so she kept the kiss short and sweet. 

“Got get them.” She said flashing her a smile and adding a wink.

At the sound of voices coming up the hallway Emma took a few steps away from Regina. They had agreed to keep it casual and being found out by the whole class of interns didn’t really fall under that category.

“Dr. Swan.” Regina said nodding in her direction before she walked away. Being forced to make conversation with a bunch of interns was not on Regina’s agenda for the day. 

 

 

Once the administrator of the exam gave the okay to start Emma’s mind was on full focus. During the next few hours there was nothing or no one that matter other than the cases in front of her. After the test was done she was going to be one step closer to becoming the surgeon she knew she could be. 

Killian on the other hand was sweating profusely. His hand has a slight shake when moving the pencil around the paper. He was mostly confident in his answers but there was slight doubt nagging at him. “Did I consider all the symptoms? Did I rule everything out? Am I right?” He kept asking himself. 

Mulan on her part had a focus that could be considered robot like. For as long as she can remember she wanted to be like her father. The moment to rise to the occasion and honor the memory of her late father was within reach. Her residence on the hospital her father had helped build was resting on this exam, she could not afford to fail. 

Neal on his end was starting to look stressed. For all his big talk, he knew he lacked compared to his classmates. He had always been able to get by talking himself out of anything. He barely passed his MCATS but he still got into Med School. He wasn’t on the top ten percent of his class but still got into the top program in the country. He knew that it wasn’t only because he was charming, he knew strings were being pulled for him. He only hoped that if he failed they would come to his aid once more. 

Half way through the exam Ruby finally started feeling good about herself. Most of the scenarios of the test she had seen in practice. All the extra hours in the ER and all the time following Blanchard around paid off. She didn’t need to wait for the results, she already knew the outcome. She had earned her spot for next year. She had no doubt about that. 

 

“How are you feeling?” Ruby asked Emma when they came out of the examination room. 

Emma let out a big breath. 

“I feel good.” Emma said. “What about you?” 

“I feel satisfied.” Ruby said after thinking about her answer for a beat. 

“Really?” Emma asked not expecting Ruby’s answer. 

“Yeah.” Ruby said. “The wolf wasn’t as big as I thought. Most of the cases I had already seen so I knew what to do.”

“Those hours in the pit paid off.” Emma stated before giving Ruby a high five. 

“Damn right, Swan.” Ruby said with a wink. 

 

Regina closed the door to her office behind her making sure the lock was on. The last thing she needed was someone entering and catching her in a compromising situation with an intern when the hospital was enforcing what was basically a non-confraternities rule. 

“So, how was it?” Regina asked expectantly. 

“I’m cautiously optimistic.” Emma said letting her body plop down on Regina’s sofa. 

“That gives me little to no information, Dr. Swan.” Regina said taking a seat next to Emma.

Emma decided to ignore that remark and tugged at Regina’s scrub top to bring her closer. 

“If I recall correctly I was promised a certain something…” Emma said pulling Regina closer.   
Regina took that moment to catch Emma’s lips with hers. No matter how many times she kissed her, she was still surprised at how soft Emma was. 

“I’m not sure you earned it.” Regina whispered against her lips. 

“I worked very, very hard.” Emma said before she bit Regina’s lower lips. 

“How hard?” Regina asked pulling lightly at Emma’s hair. 

Emma moved so that her body was fully on top of Regina’s. 

“Almost as hard as you fuck me.” Emma whispered into Regina’s ear before biting her earlobe. 

 

Scrubs were scattered on the office floor, black pieces of what Emma guessed was very expensive lingerie were also scattered across the floor. Emma was laying down in the sofa with her eyes half closed experiencing that unique sensation when your muscles feel somewhat tight but the rest of you is oddly relaxed. Regina’s body was half on top on Emma’s, her finger running through the defined abdomen almost as if counting each blemish and birthmark. 

“What made you want to become a surgeon?” Regina asked so softly it was barely audible. 

“I don’t know, I guess a part of me has a hero complex and another part of me wants to prove to everyone that I can.” Emma said. “Growing up the way I did…I knew I didn’t want to grow old and live like that. I knew I had to become something.” 

“And you have become something.” Regina said placing a kiss on Emma’s shoulder as if to seal her statement. 

“What about you?” Emma asked. 

“Continuation of the family business. I couldn’t afford not to.” Regina said. “That’s not to say that I don’t love what I do because I do.” 

They fell into a comfortable silence before Regina decided to break it once more. 

“Why don’t you have a girlfriend?” Regina asked. 

“It’s not been in the cards for me, I guess.” Emma answered with a slight shrug. 

“That’s hard to believe.” Regina said. 

“Why’s that?” Emma asked. 

“You’re beautiful, you’re smart, I bet girls your age cream their panties if you so much as look in their direction.” Regina said. “Don’t think I’ve missed the way Dr. Lucas looks at you.” 

“You mean Ruby?” Emma asked somewhat incredulously. “I don’t know about that…” 

“Well, I do.” Regina said resting her head on Emma’s shoulder. 

The office fell silent once more. Regina’s finger kept tracing Emma’s sink but this time Emma was the one who broke the silence. 

“Why don’t you have a girlfriend?” Emma asked. 

“Because my husband died a sudden death leaving me to be a single mother.” Regina asked. “That and my line of work don’t exactly leave a lot of free time to go around town dating.” 

“I’m sorry if I overstepped.” Emma said in a soft voice. 

“You didn’t.” Regina answered her fingers never interrupting their contact with Emma’s soft skin. 

Emma took a glance to Regina’s desk where a picture of Regina hugging a young boy from behind served as decoration. 

“What’s your son like?” Emma asked. 

“He’s smart.” Regina said without much thinking. “He has a very kind heart, just like his father. He’s also very stubborn.” 

“Just like his mother, I’m guessing.” Emma said letting out a small chuckle. 

“The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, dear.” Regina said with a sense of pride almost palpable. “You’ll see when you meet him.” 

That statement made Emma’s train of thought still for a moment. 

“When I meet him?” Emma asked. 

“He’s around the hospital a lot when he has breaks from school.” Regina said. “You’re bound to meet him sooner or later. If you passed your intern test, that is.” 

“I look forward to it.” Emma said surprising herself at how much she meant those words. “Meeting your son, that is.” 

“Me too.” Regina said curling up closer to Emma letting her eyes close promising herself internally that she would only rest her eyes for a few seconds before getting up and continuing with her day. 

Emma felt Regina relax into her body and she knew the older woman had fallen asleep. This was uncharted territory for both. So far, their encounters had been quick rendezvous in an empty on call room or empty storage closet. The little conversation that had followed each encounter could hardly be considered as pillow talk. Instead of giving it too much thought Emma decided that her time was better invested playing with Regina’s hair for a while longer before she had to leave.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Hey guys, thank you so much for all of your comments, I really appreciate them. I'm sorry for any spelling mistakes or errors. I barely had time to edit. Hope you enjoy this chapter. 

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A few weeks had passed since their intern exam and today all the interns were supposed to know whether they passed the test or not. If they passed the test they had a spot for the residency program, if they didn’t they had to repeat their intern year before they could retake the exam. Either way they had a two-week vacation before the start of the new year. 

“What are you doing with your vacation?” Ruby asked Emma as she closed her locker door. Hopefully today would be their last day in the intern’s locker room and they would upgrade to the resident changing room. 

“I don’t know.” Emma said. “I guess finally see parts of the city that are not the road from my place to the hospital for a change. Maybe I’ll also go down to Boston to see some old friends…What about you?”

“I’m visiting my grandma.” Ruby said. “She probably needs help around the diner.” 

“So, you’re spending your vacation working?” Emma asked. 

Ruby gave her a shrug. 

“Kind of.” She said. “If I’m lucky my grandma will agree to close for a weekend and we can spend some time together.” 

“Where’s your hometown?” Emma asked. 

“Oh it’s a few hours from here.” Ruby said. “Not too far. You should come visit if you have the time. You’ll have the best meal of your life, I promise.” 

“That sounds good, Rubes.” Emma said smiling. “Thanks for the invite.” 

Ruby’s smile grew as if showing off her perfectly aligned teeth. 

“Is that a yes?” She asked unable to hide her excitement. 

“Yeah.” Emma said smiling at Ruby’s excitement. “I’d love to come visit. Text me when and where and I’ll be there.” 

“Perfect.” Ruby said almost jumping. “It’s a small town but it’s very charming. You’re going to have a great time.” 

“I don’t doubt it, Rubes.” Emma said matching Ruby’s smile. 

 

 

 

 

Regina sat in the attendings lounge with a cup of scalding hot coffee and the newspaper mentally preparing herself for the day she had ahead. Three surgeries scheduled back to back in one day, people really need to start working out and eating better. Her case wasn’t helped by the fact that the stupid interns were going on vacation. If it was true that they were pretty much useless at the very least they had her charts updated. 

“What’s got you looking so gloomy, sis?” Zelena asked taking a seat in front of Regina. 

“Three back to back surgeries.” Regina said. 

“Oh.” Zelena said disappointed. “I thought it had to do something with your new lady love.” 

Regina set her newspaper on the table, her face remaining expressionless. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Regina said. 

“You know, the more you deny it the easiest it is to make fun of you.” Zelena said. 

“Still don’t know what you’re talking about.” Regina said. 

“Tell you what, you can have her on your service today.” Zelena said. “I already have Wu.” 

“I have Lucas on my service today.” Regina said rolling her eyes. 

“You can have two interns today.” Zelena said. “It sounds like you’ll need them anyway.” 

Regina did need all the help she could get today. Besides having both Lucas and Emma on her service will help her test out a theory she’s had for some time now. She’s practically sure that there’s something going on between Emma and Dr. Lucas. Emma could swear up and down that their only friends but Regina new something was going on. Maybe not on Emma’s part but she knew that Ruby had other interests in Emma.

“Fine, you can send her over so she can do rounds while Lucas does pre-op.” Regina said playing up her annoyance. 

 

 

 

 

After rounds Emma and Ruby sat side by side organizing Regina’s charts. Emma knew Regina was extremely particular about how she liked her charts done, she was going to be absent from the hospital for two weeks and she wanted to make the job easier on whatever poor soul was assigned to Regina’s service in her absence. 

“Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dumb.” Regina said when she approached the station of the Cardio department. “Alvarez is out for the day so I need you two to scrub in.”

“When?” Emma asked. 

“Tomorrow.” Regina deadpanned. “When do you think? Now. I don’t have time to explain everything to you. Go scrub in, what are you waiting for?” 

Ruby and Emma scrammed for the OR. 

“What’s gotten into her today?” Ruby asked. 

“Who knows? At least we get to scrub in together in our last day as interns.” Emma said offering her a tight smile. 

“And with The Evil Queen herself.” Ruby said. “Who would’ve thought?” 

 

 

 

They worked in relative silence, every now and again someone asked a question that Regina answered almost mechanically. As Regina moved her hands around the open heart on her table she snuck glances at Emma and Ruby. The almost adoring way Ruby looked at Emma did not go unnoticed. She couldn’t name the feeling that rushed through her body, suddenly, her hands felt cold and her blood pressure seemed to drop. Most people would’ve named the feeling something akin to jealousy, but Regina wasn’t most people. 

“Hey, Em, I talked to grams and she said that she had a room for you at the inn whenever you wanted it.” Ruby said. “Do you know if you’re coming in this week or the next?” 

“The next, definitely.” Emma said. “My buddy August has some free time this week and he wants to come visit. When are you leaving? You should meet August, I think you’ll like each other.” 

Regina stayed silent, carefully watching the interaction unravel. 

“I leave tomorrow afternoon.” Ruby said. “When is he coming by?” 

“Day after tomorrow.” Emma said regretfully. “It sucks because I really wanted you to meet him.” 

“Some other time then?” Ruby asked with a small shrug. 

“For sure.” Emma said smiling Ruby’s way. 

Regina’s gaze did not go unnoticed by Ruby. She couldn’t really read Regina all that well. She never knew if Regina was really annoyed by everyone that surrounded her or was she just playing it up but her gaze felt somewhat unnerving. 

“Do you take your vacation now as well, Dr. Mills?” Ruby asked 

“I usually wait until Henry is out of school so we can take a nice family trip.” Regina said. “That’s if my schedule allows for it.” 

“This is going to be the first vacation since I started college where I’m not going to be stressed out of my mind.” Emma said. “I won’t have to worry about extra credit or internships and the best of all is that I’ll get paid.” 

“You two should enjoy your vacation while you can.” Regina said making a few stitches. “When you’re a resident and you go on vacation you risk that your idiot interns kill your patients and when you’re an attending you worry that your stupid residents burn your department to the ground. It’s very stressful.” 

“Is that why you never leave the hospital?” Emma asked teasing. “You’re afraid the hospital might fall apart in your absence?” 

“I know the hospital will fall apart without me, Dr. Swan.” Regina said. “That’s what happens when you’re the best surgeon to have ever walk these halls.” 

“The best surgeon ever?” Emma asked. “Is that what you think?” 

“That’s what I know.” Regina said looking at her handiwork. “Look at that heart, it doesn’t look like it was operated on at all. I’m just that good.” She said a proud smirk visible behind her mask. 

“She does have a point, Em.” Ruby said clearly impressed by Regina’s work.

“Shut up.” Emma muttered. 

 

 

 

 

“So, you’re leaving…” Regina said once she was alone with Emma in the scrub room. 

“Try not to miss me too much.” Emma said drying off her hands. 

“I won’t.” Regina said rolling her eyes. 

She knew that was a blatant lie. She was going to miss Emma. She had been thinking about it all week. In just a few months Emma had become a fixture in her life. Before they got involved she was used to being annoyed when the young intern followed her around sniffing for surgeries but now that they knew each other in a more intimate way she was afraid of what missing Emma could mean. 

“Well, I’m big enough to admit that I will miss you.” Emma said. “I will miss you a lot.” 

“Ugh, spare me the dramatics, dear.” Regina said. “It’s not like you’re going to Iraq. You’re going to be down the street being your idiotic self.” 

“Two whole weeks without the pleasure of my company…” Emma said ignoring Regina’s jab. “I feel really sorry for you.” 

“How kind of you.” Regina deadpanned resting her lower back against the sink in the scrub room. 

“You could see me if you wanted to.” Emma said somewhat hesitantly. 

“I thought you were going to be busy with your girlfriend.” Regina said. “I hear Grams is really excited to meet you.” 

“I’m just saying that my apartment is two blocks down, I own a really comfortable bed and I’m going to have some time in my hands in the next few days.” Emma said. “If a certain unbearably arrogant somebody were to knock on my door in between surgeries I might be compelled to answer.” 

“Might be?” Regina said raising her eyebrow. 

“Yeah, I’m in apartment 4B.” Emma said. “It’s the building next to the fire station.” 

“That’s a lot of information to give someone you might not even open the door for.” Regina said. 

“I’m sure you can persuade me to open.” Emma said taking a step closer. 

Regina pulled Emma by the scrub top effectively tapping her in between her arms. 

“It couldn’t be too difficult.” Regina said. “You are going to miss me after all.” 

Any further comments that Regina had were silenced by Emma’s lips on hers. The kiss was hurried, forceful and almost needy. 

“Maybe I am going to miss you after all.” Regina whispered against her lips. 

“Come see me?” Emma asked looking directly into Regina’s eyes. Her eyes were big and bright, full of hope. Regina untangled herself from Emma, taking a step back. Suddenly, the closeness felt stifling.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Regina said. “I can’t make any promises.” 

Emma wanted to push for a definite answer but her attempt was stunted when her pager started ringing. She looked down to see who was paging her and to where. For the last few days she had been paged to the clinic because a patient kept asking for her but when she got there the patient was already gone. She did not have time for that nonsense today. However, this time it was not her phantom patient, this time she was being paged to Gold’s office. 

“Test results are in.” Emma said after shoving her pager back into her pocket. “I gotta go.” 

“Go, go.” Regina said hurrying Emma off. 

 

 

 

 

“Dr. Swan, please sit.” Gold said in his usual politely detached tone. 

Emma sat down on a chair in front of Gold’s massive desk. She really wished he could just get it over with. She needed to know whether she had a spot for residency or not. 

“I am very pleased to announce that you passed your intern exam.” He said with a somewhat forced smile. “I am very proud of the work you have done this year, that’s why I want to offer you a place in our residency program.” He said extending his hand out to Emma. “What do you say?” 

“Thank you so much, Dr. Gold.” Emma said almost jumping out of her seat. 

“Is that a yes?” He asked. 

“Yes, of course, yes.” Emma said. 

“Very well, Dr. Swan.” He said. “Go on now and enjoy your vacation. Residency is no picnic.” 

 

When Emma got out of Dr. Gold’s office Ruby, Mulan and Killian were waiting there for her. The three of them had very excited, very expectant look on their faces. Emma was barely even capable of concealing her own excitement. 

“So…?” Ruby pressed impatiently. 

“I passed.” Emma said happily. 

They all jumped one on top of the other unable to contain their emotions. Their shrieks of joy were heard all around the hallways. 

“I knew it.” Mulan said. “I fucking knew it, Swan.” 

“What about you, guys?” Emma asked. “Did you talk to Gold?” 

“We did.” Ruby said. “I went in right before you. I passed.” 

“I did too.” Killian said. “Barely, but still, I’m a resident, bitches.” He said raising his hand to get a high five. 

“Ew. No.” Mulan said eyeing him. 

“What about you, Wu?” Emma said. “You’re not sobbing on the floor so I’m guessing you passed.” 

“For your information, I did.” Mulan said. “I already called my mother, who called my grandma, who called my aunts. They’re all very happy from what little I could understand.” 

“We’re celebrating this.” Emma said. “After our shift. Rabbit Hole. Frist round is on me.” 

“Swan paying for something?” Killian said. “I’m there.” 

“Hey, where’s Neal?” Ruby asked. “Has someone seen him at all today?” 

They all looked at each other in confusion. 

“No.” Emma said. “Come to think about it, I haven’t seen him all day.” 

“Me neither.” Mulan said. “He probably just took the day off.” 

“Do you think he failed.” Killian asked worried. 

“Probably.” Ruby said with a shrug. 

“I need to find him.” Killian said concerned bolting away as he pulled his cellphone from his lab coat. 

 

 

 

 

Regina was finishing changing out of her scrubs when Zelena and Kathryn entered the attendings changing room. 

“Dearest sister, you’re leaving already.” Zelena asked. 

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Regina said bitterly. 

“No need to be snippy.” Zelena said. “I thought you were slammed.” 

“I was.” Regina said. “One of my patients died before I even got him on the table so there’s that.” 

Kathryn gave Zelena a knowing look. Losing a patient was particularly hard for Regina given her history. Ever since losing Daniel she never took it too well when a patient died. They all knew it came with the territory. However unpleasant, losing patients was a part of the job.  
“Why don’t you come with us?” Kathryn asked. “We’re going to the Rabbit Hole for a drink.” 

“That dump?” Regina asked. “No thank you. I have a son at home waiting for me.”” 

“Come on, Henry won’t mind if you’re late because you went for a few drinks with his favorite aunt.” Zelena said. 

“You’re his only aunt.” Regina said rolling her eyes. 

“Hey, I take offense in that.” Kathryn said. “I love Henry as if he were my own nephew.” 

“I’m sorry…” Regina said but her apology was cut short. 

“Make it up to me by coming with us.” Kathryn said. “You lost a patient, if you go home right now you’re just going to be moping around. You can’t leave me alone with Zelena.”

“I take offense in that.” Zelena said. “The interns are going to be there. We all know how much you like the interns.” 

“How do you even know that?” Kathryn said mildly impressed. 

“I may be checking out one of the hot interns myself.” Zelena said. 

“Who?” Regina asked defensively. 

“None of your business.” Zelena said. Upon Regina’s unimpressed look she elaborated. “Don’t worry, it’s not your precious Swan.” 

“You see what I mean?” Kathryn said. “You can’t leave me alone with her.” 

Regina just took a big breath before she said anything else. 

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A/N: Do you think Regina should go to the bar? Tell me what you think. I'll try to post another chapter as soon as I can.


	11. Chapter 11

Mulan struggled to make her way across the bar to her group of friends, finally she managed to put the tray full of drinks on the table. Everyone took their respective drinks and raised their glasses meeting in the middle. 

“To not being at the bottom of the food chain anymore.” Mulan said before taking a sip of her glass. 

“Here, here.” Emma said before taking a sip herself. 

“We’re killing the game.” Ruby said. 

“I don’t know, I think the game might be killing some of us…” Killian said almost to himself. 

Mulan and Ruby shared a knowing look. They knew something was up between Killian and Neal. It was obvious from the way Killian followed him around like a lost puppy. Ruby thought that Killian was too good for Neal, she couldn’t see why he would be willing to give his time and attention to a guy like Neal. 

“You know…you can do so much better than that guy.” Ruby grumbled. 

“Ruby.” Emma said in a warning tone. It was none of their business who Killian chose to involve himself with.

“What? I’m just saying the truth.” Ruby said. 

“Okay, okay…” Mulan said. “Let’s give Jones a break, we’re here to celebrate and have a good time. No moping around for the rest of the night, is that clear?” 

“Yes, boss.” Emma said standing up from her seat. “I’ll go get us some shots.” 

Emma was about to make her way to the bar when her eyes drifted to the entrance and she saw three attendings entering the bar. She stood frozen in the spot for a few seconds before she could gather herself. 

“No way, The Wicked Witch of the West and The Evil Queen.” Killian said his eyes pointing to the same direction Emma’s eyes were fixed at. 

“What are you…?” Mulan started to ask before she saw with her own eyes. “What are they even doing here?” 

“Uh same thing we’re doing?” Ruby said as if stating the obvious. 

“I know, but this is like seeing your first-grade teacher chugging a bottle of whiskey.” Mulan said. “Some things you just don’t expect to see.” 

“I’ll go get us those shots.” Emma said.   
“You go do that, please.” Killian said. 

 

 

 

“I can’t believe I let you drag me into this place,” Regina complained. “This place is filthy.” She said looking at the floor with disdain. 

“Come on.” Zelena said unable to stop herself from rolling her eyes. “Give it a chance, you might have fun.” 

“Let’s grab some drinks.” Kathryn said dragging Regina by the hand to the bar. 

“I can’t remember the last time I was in a place like this.” Regina said as she sat down on the worn and torn bar stool. 

“Probably not since the Stone Age.” Zelena said offhandedly. “Seriously, you need to get out more.” 

Katheryn looked around the bar. A group of, what she could only assume where interns, played darts on one corner, on another side there was a very loud and competitive game of beer pong being played. The whole scenario had her feeling somewhat nostalgic of her intern days when she and Regina only had to worry about working hard all day and then playing harder all night. Life was much simpler before she married David and Regina married Daniel. Looking at themselves now, they were completely different people than the ones they were back in those days. 

“David and I met right there.” Kathryn said in a wistful tone pointing at the corner of the bar.

“Is there something you want to talk about?” Regina asked, the change in Kathryn’s tone not going unnoticed by her. 

“Everything’s fine.” Kathryn said dismissing Regina with a wave of her hand. “I’m being silly.” 

“Here you go ladies.” The bartender said as she placed green drinks in front of each one of them. 

“What is this?” Regina asked weary of the color of the drink. 

“It’s a little something I like to call early on-set Alzheimer’s.” Zelena said downing her drink in one shot. 

“That’s in poor taste, Zelena.” Kathryn said as she began to drink. “This is delicious, by the way.” 

“This is horrendous.” Regina said almost gaging before she called for the bartender. “Three shots of tequila, please.” 

“You go, Dr. Mills.” Zelena said proudly. 

“Well, I need something to wash away the horrible taste in my mouth.” Regina argued. 

“I found something to cleanse your palate.” Zelena said moving Regina’s head so she could see Emma reaching over the bar to talk with the bartender. The auburn-haired bartender leaned into Emma to whisper something in her ear as Emma nodded and smiled. “Or not…” 

“I could not care less about what Emma Swan does or stops doing.” Regina said right before she took her shot in one fell swoop. 

“If you say so, sis.” Zelena said with a shrug.

“That bartender is definitely picking up whatever Swan is dropping.” Kathryn said. “You may have some competition, Regina.” 

“Emma is free to do whatever she wants.” Regina said before she ordered another round of shots. 

 

 

 

Emma headed back to their table with a round of drinks for everyone, completely unaware that she had been watched when she was talking with the bartender. 

“Took you long enough.” Mulan said as she took her drink. 

“Yeah, what was that all about?” Ruby asked. 

“I was just talking to Dawn the bartender.” Emma said. “If we’re doing anything else after this she might join us.” 

“Join us or join just you?” Killian asked wiggling his eyebrows. 

“It’s not like that.” Emma said. “She is pretty hot but I’m not interested.” 

“Oh, my god,” Mulan said. “Is it raining upside down?” 

“Hilarious.” Emma deadpanned. “I’m sort of interested in someone else.” 

“Who?” Ruby asked suddenly. “Who are you interested in?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Emma said. “It’s not like it could work out anyway. They don’t like me in the way that I like them. I made my peace with it. It’s fine.” 

“Who is this mystery lady?” Mulan asked. “Does she work in the hospital?” 

“That’s none of your business.” Emma said standing up from her seat. “I gotta go to the bathroom, I’ll be right back.” 

They waited until Emma was out of earshot to continue their conversation. 

“You need to make a move soon.” Mulan said. 

“What? No.” Ruby said. “It’s too soon. I’m not ready.” 

“At this rate, you’ll never be.” Killian said. “She’s obviously into someone else but she knows that relationship is doomed. This is your chance. You can show her that the love of her life has been stating right in front of her all along and that you’re a hundred times better than this other person that’s been curving her.” 

“I don’t know.” Ruby said. “What if she doesn’t feel the same? She’s my best friend.” 

“If she’s really your best friend she will continue to be your friend regardless.” Mulan said. “Worst case scenario, she doesn’t feel the same and you continue to be friends. Best case scenario everything will work out the way you want it to.” 

“We’re going to be spending a few days alone when she comes to my hometown.” Ruby said. “I’ll talk to her then.” 

“If that’s how you want to play it.” Killian said shrugging his shoulders. 

“Do you have a better idea?” Ruby asked somewhat irritated. 

“No, I’m just saying…” Killian said. “It’s your call.” 

 

 

Emma stood in front of the mirror fixing her hair. She didn’t know why seeing Regina at the bar had thrown her for a loop. Maybe it was the fact that she wasn’t used to seeing Regina outside of the hospital, seeing her casually talking with her friends made her feel more unreachable than usual. There was something about Regina that was undeniably magnetic that had Emma thinking about her for hours on end. Lately Emma found herself remembering hat what they had was casual and that’s all that it ever will be. 

“Hey” Regina said as she closed the door behind her. “Funny meeting you here.” 

“I didn’t peg you for the bar hopping type.” Emma said leaning her body against the sink. 

“I’m not.” Regina said. “I’m just on my way out actually.” 

“So early?” Emma asked, traces of disappointment obvious in her voice. 

“It’s kind of late for me already.” Regina said after she took a quick glance at her wrist watch.

“Well in that case…” Emma said moving forward to close the space between them. Emma placed her hand on the back of Regina’s neck pulling her closer to her but did not make any move to breach the gap between their lips. Regina gently place her hands on Emma’s cheek, pressing forward for their lips to meet in the middle. “You taste like tequila.” 

“You taste like beer.” Regina said letting out a chuckle before she kissed Emma again. 

“Do you really have to go?” Emma said wrapping her arms around Regina’s waist. Holding her like this made it impossible to not notice how well their bodies fit together. 

“I do.” Regina said stepping out of Emma’s tight embrace. “You’re staying, I’m guessing? You looked like you were having fun earlier.” 

“Yeah, I’m staying for a while longer.” Emma said thinking about how rare it was to spend a stress-free night without any worries about pagers going off in the middle of the night. “I’m having a good time so far.” 

“I can tell.” Regina said rising a single eyebrow and crossing her arms over her chest. 

“What’s this supposed to mean?” Emma said pointing to Regina’s demeanor. 

“Nothing.” Regina said uncrossing her arms. She took a step closer to Emma and kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you in two weeks, Dr. Swan.” 

Regina turned around to leave but was stop by Emma grabbing her by the wrist. 

“Two weeks?” Emma asked. “I thought we…I thought you were going to come by my place…” 

“I don’t know, Emma.” Regina said. “I’m not sure that’s a wise decision.” 

“Why not?” Emma asked taken aback.

“We agreed to keeping this casual.” Regina said. “Anything outside an on-call room is decidedly not casual.” 

“Fucking in my apartment won’t be any more intimate than fucking in your office.” Emma said. “More comfortable for sure but it won’t be any less casual.” 

“Emma…” Regina said as a warning as Emma got closer to her. 

“It’s a shame you don’t want to come by.” Emma whispered in her ear. “I was really looking forward to fucking you without worrying about time or someone hearing us.” 

“Emma, please.” Regina said not really knowing what she was asking for. Emma’s breath on her ear clouded her judgment. 

Maybe it was all the alcohol flowing through her veins but at that precise moment Emma needed to feel Regina’s body on hers. Unceremoniously she pushed her against the wall, attacking her lips in the process. Regina’s hands tangled themselves in Emma’s long hair. 

They were so enthralled in the feeling of each other that they failed to hear the door of the bathroom open and close behind them. 

“What the fuck?” Mulan said. If she had been holding a drink it would currently be spilled all over the floor. 

“Oh my God.” Regina said stepping away as if the younger woman was set on fire. 

“This isn’t what it looks like?” Emma said unsure. 

“Dr. Mills is the person you’re into?” Mulan asked. “What the fuck, Swan? This is crazy. Oh God, Ruby is going to be devastated.” Her eyes opened wide at the realization of what had just came out of her mouth. 

“Why would Ruby be devastated?” Emma asked confused. 

“Because she’s in love with you, idiot.” Regina answered in Mulan’s stead. 

“She’s not.” Emma said. 

“She is.” Regina said. “That’s obvious to anyone but you apparently.” 

“I wasn’t supposed to say anything.” Mulan said. “She’s going to kill me if she finds out I told you.” 

“I will kill you if you utter a word of what you think you saw here.” Regina said. “You should be much more scared of me than your little friend.”

The bathroom started to feel way too crowed for Regina’s liking so she left without saying anything else. The fact that Mulan had walked in on them unsettled her. She knew it was her fault it happened, she should’ve kept her distance with Emma tonight. She knew kissing Emma was a mistake, she knew that from the moment she walked in that bathroom and saw Emma there. Emma made her careless, she didn’t know what was about her that made Regina lose control at times when she needed to keep her grip on it. 

“You’re dating The Evil Queen?” Mulan asked still in disbelief. 

“We’re not dating.” Emma said. 

“So you’re just making out with her in bars?” Mulan asked. 

“No, Wu.” Emma said exasperated. “It’s none of your business anyway.” 

“You’re right.” Mulan said. “Your secret is safe with me.” 

“Clearly you’re the bacon of secret keeping.” Emma said. 

“Excuse me if you dry humping Dr. Mills threw me off.” Mulan said. “I won’t say anything to Ruby. I’m not going to be the one to break her heart like that.”

“Stop with that.” Emma said. “Ruby is not into me like that.” 

“She is, dude.” Mulan said. “She doesn’t know how to tell you. She’s felt like this all year.” 

“Fuck.” Emma said running her fingers through her hair. 

“If you’re going to let her down…” Mulan said. “Please let her down easy. She doesn’t deserve to have her heart broken. For some crazy fucking reason, you’re the one she loves, even if she deserves much better than you.” She said looking Emma directly in the eyes. “No offense. 

“None taken.” Emma said. “Ruby is my friend. I would never hurt her.” 

“I’ll kick your ass if you do.” Mulan said without a hint of playfulness in her words. 

“Hey, Wu” Emma said. “Can we please keep what you saw between us? I don’t care about what anyone thinks but I know Regina cares and I would really appreciate it if we can just keep this quiet.” 

“Sure.” Mulan said before going back to the table.


	12. Chapter 12

The shrill sound of the alarm woke Regina from her deep sleep. Her weekend was spent with Henry doing mother and son things. Ever since Daniel died Regina tried to compensate for his absence. Henry was a very sweet boy even if he was somewhat reserved. Henry was so much like his father, quiet and reserved, always observant but she had to admit that he had inherited her temper. Thankfully they both had their tempers in check during the weekend and could enjoy each other’s company. Regina finally relented and took Henry to see the new super hero movie he could not stop talking about, they went out for dinner and spent time in the park. She was thankful that she could see Henry grow, she couldn’t imagine life without her son. 

At one point during the weekend while she played with Henry in the park Emma came into her mind. She loved her son so much and she cherished every moment they spent together, she couldn’t imagine voluntarily giving that up. Emma growing up without that type of unconditional love broke her heart. 

Shaking lingering thoughts of Emma aside she got up from bed, getting her day started. Today was going to be the first day without Emma around the hospital, a part of her was thankful for this. After what happened on Friday, she needed some space apart to get ahold of her feelings. She was sure that with the space between them she could somewhat shake the blond off and get something resembling control again. 

 

 

“Dr. Mills.” The nurse said surprised to see Regina. Attendings were a rare site in the clinic, most doctors that worked the clinic were new interns looking for surgical cases or residents vying for the title of Senior Resident. 

“There’s someone asking for Dr. Swan?” Regina asked extending her hand, silently requesting the patient’s chart. 

“It’s Emma’s crazy patient.” Nurse Jane said rolling her eyes. “If you ask me, I would just page psych and get it over with. This lady is here at least once a month with some crazy symptom, refusing to talk to anyone but Dr. Swan.” She said as she handed over the chart. 

“Huh, that’s odd.” Regina said when she saw the patient’s name. 

“What?” Jane asked looking at the chart over Regina’s shoulder. 

“Beatrice Swan.” Regina said. “The name.” 

“What about it?” Jane asked. 

“Nothing.” Regina said slightly exasperated. “Where’s the patient?”

“Bed three.” Jane said. 

Regina waked over to the patient silently cursing her luck. All she wanted was get Emma Swan out of her head for a few hours but apparently, the universe had a different plan for her. 

“Ms. Swan, I’m Dr. Mills.” Regina said an odd feeling overcoming her at calling Ms. Swan someone other than Emma. “I’ll be your doctor for today.” 

“Oh, no thank you, honey.” Betty said. “I’m waiting for Dr. Swan, she’s my doctor, you know?” 

Betty made eye contact with Regina and it hit her why this woman had spent hours in the clinic waiting for Emma to show up. They shared the same blue-green hue in their eyes, she wondered if Emma knew who this woman was. 

“Dr. Swan is not in today.” Regina said as she took the stethoscope out of her coat pocket. “The nurse made a note that you’re having chest pains?” 

“Yes,” Betty said. “Is there a way to get ahold of Dr. Swan?” 

“I know that Emma is your-” Regina said stopping herself. “doctor, but I’m an excellent cardiothoracic surgeon, if you have any problems with your heart I’m the person you want holding the scalpel.” 

“I’m sure you are, doctor.” Betty said uncrossing the hands over her chest so Regina could begin her examination. “Emma is very good too, isn’t she?” 

“She is.” Regina said as she continued her examination. “You see her often?” 

“Yes, she’s always helping me around, giving me medicine. She’s very kind.” Betty said rubbing the palm of her hands on her jeans. It was a gesture that Regina had seem Emma do countless times when she was nervous. “You make sure her boss knows that.” 

“I’ll make sure to pass that along, Ms. Swan.” Regina said giving her a warm smile. 

“Please do.” Betty said. “That girl needs a promotion.” 

Regina let out a chuckle. 

“She just had one.” Regina said. “Emma did very well in a very important exam and now she gets to stay with us for a few more years. She’ll make an excellent surgeon one day. She’s worked very hard for it.” 

“That girl is so smart.” Betty said. “I always knew she would become somebody.” 

“Are you related to Emma?” Regina asked tentatively, testing out how far she could push the woman for more information. 

“What makes you ask that?” Betty said crossing her hands over her chest again. 

“Emma has your eyes.” Regina said softly before she closed the curtains to allow them something resembling privacy. “I’m surprised no one else has figured it out. If Emma was a brunette you two could pass as twins.” 

Betty’s eyes began watering immediately, making Regina regret ever saying anything. She didn’t know this woman in front of her, she didn’t know her life or what caused her to leave Emma. Regina knew she was overstepping her boundaries but it was too late to turn back now. 

“She doesn’t know.” Betty said so low that Regina could barely make out her words. 

“I know.” Regina said.

“Don’t tell her, please.” Betty said with tears running down her cheeks. “She’ll hate me if she knows. This is all I have of my daughter, please don’t take it away.” 

“I haven’t known Emma for too long, but I’ve known her long enough to know that she wouldn’t hate you. She couldn’t hate anyone, even if she tried. She’s stubborn and strong but Emma is also very kind and caring.” Regina said. “She wouldn’t hate you.” 

“I let them take her away from me.” Betty said. “I let them take my baby and now that I found her I’m too much of a coward to tell her that I’m her mom. I am her mother.” 

“I don’t know you, I won’t pretend to understand what not having your child feels like.” Regina said. “Emma needs to know who you are. I understand if you need time but Emma doesn’t deserve to be deceived.” 

“You’re going to tell her, aren’t you?” Betty said. 

“No. It’s not my place to say anything.” Regina said. “But if you’re going to keep coming here, taking resources away from other patients…you need to tell her. You can’t come here to try to gain Emma’s trust under false pretenses. I won’t allow it.” 

“I don’t want to hurt her.” Betty said. “I just want to see her. I never thought I would ever see her.” 

“Do yourself a favor and tell her.” Regina said. “Until you decide to tell her, we’re done here. You won’t come into this hospital under false pretenses, okay?” 

“Yes, Dr. Mills.” Betty said wiping the tears from her eyes. 

“Very well.” Regina said nodding before she turned to leave. 

“I didn’t leave her because I wanted to.” Betty said. “I would have never left my baby; no mother wants to be away from her child. She was taken from me. I always wanted her. She has a father that wants her too.” 

“You need to talk to Emma.” Regina said before he exited the room. 

 

 

Regina walked out of the clinic as she barked instructions to the nurse to call Cardio and cancel all the appointments she had for the day. She needed to see Emma. Regina had promised Betty not to reveal her true identity to Emma and she intended to keep that promise but she also wanted to see Emma’s reaction at the prospect of having her parents in her life. 

As she drove over to Emma’s apartment building she questioned the reason for being there. Emma was nothing more than the person who sometimes shared her bed. Why was she caring so much about her emotional well-being? 

Regina knocked on apartment 4b’s door, a muffled sound came from inside before the door opened.   
   
“Regina?” Emma asked after she opened the door. She was wearing a might tank top matched with baggy sweatpants, her hair messy probably from sleep. “What are you doing here?”   
   
“I had the day off.” Regina said settling for the half-truth.    
   
“Come in.” Emma said opening the door wider as an invitation. “Sorry for the mess, I wasn’t expecting company.”   
   
Eclectic was a nice word to describe Emma’s apartment. Text books, medical journals and notebooks laid everywhere. The apartment was a small loft with exposed brick on one wall that made Regina think that if Emma cleaned up the place it had the potential to look modern and elegant.   
   
“This is…nice.” Regina said looking around before she stumbled on an empty beer bottle.   
   
“Sorry about that.” Emma said picking up the bottle and throwing it in the trash. “Do you want something to drink? I have beer in the fridge.”   
   
“It’s not even eleven in the morning, Emma.” Regina said rolling her eyes.   
   
“Right, sorry.” Emma said. “I also have water and maybe some expired soda…I haven’t really had time to go grocery shopping.”   
   
“I’m fine, thank you.” Regina said. 

They stared at each other in silence for a beat.  
   
“This is not going well at all, is it?” Emma said with a chuckle. “I wanted to have this place cleaned before I invited you over, maybe even have some fancy wine, I don’t know which kind you like but you strike me as someone who only drinks reds.”   
   
“Shut up.” Regina said as she walked over to Emma. She pressed a soft kiss on her lips effectively shutting her up. “I didn’t come here for your expansive collection of fine wine.”   
   
“What did you come here for then?” Emma asked with a smirk.   
   
“I think you can guess…” Regina said as she peppered Emma’s neck with small kisses. She had come here to talk to Emma about something serious but seeing her being flustered and awkward melted her in ways she refused to acknowledge. Instead of allowing herself to think about why she has left work in the middle of the day just so she could see Emma meant, Regina decided to distract herself with Emma’s body. 

“You came here so you can enjoy the pleasure of my company?” Emma asked, a chuckle vibrating through her throat. 

“Something along those lines.” Regina said between peppered kisses as she slid Emma’s tank top off her body. She ran a delicate hand through Emma’s toned abdomen moaning softly when Emma caught her lips with her mouth. Regina pressed her body against Emma enjoying the way their bodies felt against each other. 

“I’m so glad you came.” Emma whispered against Regina’s ear as she grabbed her backside to press her closer. 

“I haven’t yet.” Regina said as she bit Emma’s lower lip. “Care to do something about that situation?” 

“Gladly.” Emma said as she backed them toward the bed. 

 

 

“You are the sexiest woman I have ever met.” Emma said as she laid in bed under the sheets next to Regina who was trying her best not to fall asleep. 

“I bet you say that to all the girls.” Regina said with a chuckle snuggling closer to Emma. 

“I don’t.” Emma said dropping a small kiss on the crown of Regina’s said before she resumed playing with a stand of her hair. “Usually I don’t say anything at all after sex.” 

“Why? Is it part of your heartthrob aesthetic?” Regina said looking up to meet Emma’s eyes. 

“Heartthrob aesthetic?” Emma said with a chuckle. 

“You act like you’re oblivious to your effect on women but I know you’re well aware.” Regina said. “Your leather jacket, your warm smile but detached stare. I would’ve totally fallen for you when I was in high school.” 

“When was that? In the Jurassic period?” Emma asked earning herself a smack from Regina. 

“You’re hilarious.” Regina deadpanned. 

“Hey, I love the sexy milf thing that you got going on.” Emma said. “It’s pretty hot.” 

“Milf?” Regina asked confused. 

“Mother I’d like to fuck.” Emma stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Milf.” 

“That’s ridiculous.” Regina said. 

“It’s the truth.” Emma said. “You’re a mother, and I like fucking you.” 

“Charming, Emma, very charming.” Regina said unable to stop a smile. 

Emma stared at Regina’s face unable to believe that someone so beautiful existed. There was something about Regina’s deep brown eyes that Emma couldn’t get enough of. 

“You’re gorgeous.” Emma said without thinking. 

“Don’t say that.” Regina said in a whisper. 

“Why not?” Emma asked. 

“Is not what we’re doing.” Regina said. “You don’t need to flatter me.” 

“Okay.” Emma said not wanting to push it any further.

Regina was right, Emma thought. It wasn’t what they were doing. She was surprised Regina came to her apartment at all. After what happened on Friday night, Emma was sure she wasn’t going to see Regina until she came back to work. Regina kept insisting that she wanted things to be casual and Emma respected that, but the fact that   
Regina came here meant that at least some parts of her missed her. Even if it was just for the sex, Emma was happy just holding Regina in her arms for a little while longer. 

\\\\\\\\\  
A/N: 

Hey! I had a ton of fun writing this chapter. I hope you enjoy it too. Next chapter will pick up right where this one left off. Tell me what you think about the chapter. Comments, suggestions, thoughts are always welcomed and appreciated.


	13. Chapter 13

Regina woke up somewhat disoriented, she didn’t recognize the room right away, after blinking for a few seconds she remembered that she was at Emma’s apartment. The last thing she remembered was idle talk with Emma. She must have fallen asleep at some point. Half of her body was draped over Emma’s; the other woman was still asleep. Emma looked peaceful a part of Regina wanted to leave as soon as possible but another part wanted to indulge for some more time. She feared that this was crossing the line, waking up to Emma in the middle of the day was not part of the plan. Emma stirred under her and when she looked up she saw her sleepy smile. Right there she decided that for today it was okay to indulge in Emma but after this coming to Emma’s place was out of the question. 

“Hey.” Emma said. “Fancy meeting you here.” 

“You come here often?” Regina said.

“Every now and then.” Emma said wrapping an arm around Regina. “You drooled on me.” She said looking down at her chest. 

“I did not.” Regina defended. “I do not drool, Dr. Swan.” 

“Whatever you say, Dr. Mills.” Emma said. “Are you on call today?”

“No, why do you ask?” Regina asked. 

“I just want to know how much time I have with you.” Emma said. 

Regina reached over Emma to look at the alarm clock that sat on the bedside. 

“Henry gets out of his piano lesson at five.” Regina said. “So, we have until five.” 

“So around four more hours?” Emma said. “What, pray tell, should we do to pass the time?” 

Regina moved to straddle Emma, the sheet slipping down only halfway covering her from the hips down. “I’m sure we can think of something.” She said grinding down on Emma. 

“Come here.” Emma said pulling Regina down so their mouths could meet. 

 

 

Emma was resting her head on Regina’s stomach, her whole body felt relaxed. She could stay with Regina like this forever. Today it felt as if nothing outside of the walls of Emma’s apartment existed, no hospital, no dying patients, no dead husbands, no long-lost parents. Today it was the two of them and Emma wished it could always stay just like this. 

“I’m so hungry.” Emma muttered against the planes of Regina’s stomach. 

“There’s space for a very crude joke right now.” Regina said with a chuckle. 

“You’re a closet perv.” Emma said. 

“Maybe.” Regina said with a shrug. “You should make me something to eat.” 

“Why should I? Why can’t you make me something you eat?” Emma asked. 

“I’m a guest in your home, Emma.” Regina argued. “What kind of hostess are you?” 

“Mmm the kind that offers her guest life changing orgasms.” Emma said. “Or do you not remember the last half hour?” 

“Do you offer that to all your guests?” Regina asked as she ran her fingers through Emma’s hair. 

“Only the special ones.” Emma said before she dropped a quick kiss to Regina’s stomach. “You’re the first girl I’ve brought here since I moved to Maine.” 

“I’m hardly a girl.” Regina said with a scoff. “Now move. Make me something to eat.” She said pushing Emma off her. Suddenly feeling suffocated at Emma’s admission. 

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Emma said getting up from the bed. She put on the sweatpants that had been discarded earlier and put on a shirt that was lying in the bedroom floor. 

Emma sat on the bed after she got dressed and looked at Regina who was now sitting on the bed only covered by a thin bedsheet. She noticed not for the first time that there was a beauty to Regina that was almost heartbreaking. She could feel so close but then turn distant on a dime. She didn’t know what to make of it. 

“Do you want a shirt to wear while we eat?” Emma asked. “Not that I’d mind the view if you don’t.” 

“A shirt will be greatly appreciated.” Regina said.

Emma stood up to reach the dresser and threw a shirt Regina’s way who looked at it with distaste before smelling it. 

“Is this clean?” Regina asked. 

“Yes.” Emma said rolling her eyes. 

“You really do need to purchase some fabric softener.” Regina said. 

 

 

Regina sat on the kitchen stool while Emma stood on the other side of the counter with an expectant face as she watched Regina took a bite out of her panini. 

“So?” Emma asked. 

“It’s not that bad.” Regina said with a shrug as she took another bite. 

“That’s the best panini you’ve ever had.” Emma said. “I’m the master of the roasted tomato and mozzarella combo.” 

“Where did you lean that?” Regina asked in between bites. 

“One of my foster parents were Italian.” Emma said. “They were pretty cool.” 

Regina looked at Emma as if waiting for the rest of the story. She wanted to know more about Emma’s past. Not that it mattered to her, she was just curious. At least that’s what she chose to tell herself. 

“That’s it?” Regina asked when Emma didn’t continue the story. 

“Pretty much.” Emma said. “Why? Were you expecting something more?” The disappointment plastered on Regina’s face not going unnoticed by her. 

“Kind of.” Regina said.

“There’s not much else to tell.” Emma said. 

“Where you with that one family the whole time?” Regina asked figuring that if she wanted information she would have to probe for it. 

“No.” Emma said. “There were a bunch. I was in the system for eighteen years so I was used to not getting too attached to any family early on. Some other kids were different, they lost parents so they remembered what it felt like to belong.” 

“Have you ever felt that?” Regina asked before she could stop herself. “That you belong, I mean.” 

“What kind of music do you like?” Emma asked feeling that she had revealed too much already. They were having fun, Emma wasn’t sure that a moment like this would ever happen again to them. She didn’t want to spend whatever time they had delving into anything too emotional. 

“Great way of deflecting.” Regina said with a smirk. “I like jazz.”

“I like classic rock, thank you for asking.” Emma said. 

“I can tell.” Regina said pointing to the Led Zeppelin shirt she was currently wearing. 

“Led Zeppelin looks very sexy on you, doctor.” Emma said making her way around the counter so she could take a seat on the stool next to Regina. “My shirt looks good on you.” 

“I like it.” Regina said wrapping her arms around Emma’s neck. “I think I’m going to keep it.”

“You can do that.” Emma said pulling Regina closer. 

Regina closed the space between them with a kiss before she took a moment to look at Emma’s face. She was undeniably beautiful. Maybe in a different time they could have had something more, maybe something special even. 

“Thank you for coming today.” Emma said. 

“The hospital was getting lonely without you.” Regina said before she pecked her lips. 

“You went to the hospital today?” Emma said pulling back a little. “I thought you had the day off.” 

“I had to check on a patient first.” Regina said settling for a half-truth, this wasn’t the moment to bring up Emma’s long lost mother. 

“Hey, can you do me a favor?” Emma asked.

“Whatever you need, dear.” Regina said. 

“Can you check the clinic every once in a while?” Emma asked. “There’s a patient, Betty, she goes there often and she doesn’t like to be checked out by anyone else but I figured that if you told her were friends she might, I don’t know, not be as difficult.” 

“Betty…” Regina said trying to see just how much did Emma knew about Betty. “Does Betty have a last name?” 

“Swan.” Emma said. “Isn’t that crazy?” 

“Yes, indeed.” Regina said deciding to test the waters further. “Do you know if she’s related to you in some way?” 

“Why do you ask that?” Emma asked. 

“I don’t know, Emma.” Regina said barely stopping herself from rolling her eyes. “She has your last name and is oddly attached to you. Who comes into the clinic just to be seen by an intern? Isn’t that somewhat strange to you?” 

“No.” Emma said. “I’ve met tons of people with my same last name that are not related to me. You haven’t? Or are all the Mills related to each other?”

“That’s not what I’m saying.” Regina said.

“Then what are you saying?” Emma asked. 

“What I’m saying is that is not out of the realm of possibility that this woman could be related to you.” Regina said.   
“Don’t say that.” Emma said. Whereas previously her tone had been somewhat playful now that had shifted completely. 

“Why not, Emma?” Regina asked. “I know firsthand that family can be very complicated but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

“You say that because you grew up with a mom and a dad, you got married and had the wholesome perfect family.” Emma said. “I grew up alone, the woman who gave birth to me left me by the side of a road. I made peace with the fact that I don’t have a family a long time ago. This Betty lady is nice and all but she’s not my mother, she’s just a patient and I want to keep it like that.” 

“Emma…” Regina said but was cut off before she could finish her sentence. 

“I don’t want to keep talking about this.” Emma said firmly. 

“I’m sorry.” Regina said. “I didn’t mean to…” 

“It’s fine.” Emma said rubbing the palm of her hands against her thighs. “I’m going to take a shower, please make yourself at home.” 

 

She shouldn’t’ve pushed so far. Regina kept telling herself. Emma visibly upset just at the prospect of meeting anyone related to her, let alone her mother. A part of her felt guilty that she was hiding information from Emma. She had no right to hide this from Emma but she also had no right to tell her anything, Betty’s story was not hers to share. She hated the fact that she had made Emma upset with her probing. Feeling the urge to mend things with Emma she decided to follow her to the bathroom. 

Regina entered without knocking, quickly shedding her shirt and her underwear as the shower kept running. She pushed the shower door open finding a half lathered up Emma inside. 

“What are you doing here?” Emma asked looking up and down Regina’s body unable to stop herself from smiling. 

“I found myself in need of a shower too.” Regina said stepping closer to Emma so they could share the water spray. 

“You’re impossibly hot.” Emma said sliding her hands around Regina’s body. “Are you sure you can’t stay here longer?” 

“I have to pick up my son.” Regina said brushing some of Emma’s hair out of her face. “I’ve already been here longer than I should.” 

“How come?” Emma asked. 

“Emma…you know we agreed to keep this casual.” Regina said. 

“I know.” Emma said. “I just…I like having you around, Regina.”

Regina looked into Emma’s deep eyes. Today they looked impossibly blue and it wasn’t long before Regina had to pull herself back to reality. 

“I like being around you.” Regina almost whispered. 

“Come back here.” Emma said into Regina’s neck. “I want you around more often.” 

“I can’t.” Regina said. 

“We can be something a little less casual.” Emma offered. 

“Emma, I’m a single parent, I work irregular hours and I am a widow.” Regina said. “I carry too much baggage.” 

“I don’t mind.” Emma said dropping a soft kiss to Regina’s neck. 

“This is all I can give you.” Regina said. “I can’t give you anything else.” 

“So, casual it is?” Emma asked disappointment palpable in her tone. 

“If you don’t want that, I’ll understand.” Regina said. She didn’t want to end things with Emma. The sex was mind blowing and she found that she enjoyed her company as well. The last thing she wanted was to hurt Emma, if what Emma was expecting was something serious then they needed to end things. 

“No.” Emma said. “I don’t want this to end. We can keep it as casual as you want.” 

“Are you sure?” Regina said placing her hands on Emma’s face. 

“I am.” Emma said. “I’m not the relationship type anyway.” 

“The heartthrob aesthetic, I recall.” Regina said with a laugh. 

“Exactly.” Emma said.

“Thank you for coming.” Emma said repeating her phrase from earlier. 

“Thank you for making me.” Regina said. 

“Making you?” Emma asked confused. 

“Come.” Regina said with a smirk. 

“Oh my fucking God.” Emma said laughing out loud. “You fucking perv.” 

_______________________________________________

A/N: 

Hey! Thank you all for your comments and your encouragement. I love writing this story and I'm so glad you are enjoying it. I'm working on the next chapter so hopefully I'll have something for you very soon. I'm thinking of exploring Emma's past and point of view in the next chapter, maybe also we'll get to see things from Regina's side. What do you guys think?


	14. Chapter 14

Emma was cleaning her apartment to the best of her ability when a knock in the front door rang through the apartment. She dropped the cleaning rag and ran to open the door. August has been in her life for as long as she remembers, they have stayed friends through multiple foster homes, colleges and cities. 

“You’re finally here, what took you so long?” Emma said almost jumping into her friend’s arms. 

“I miss you.” August said lifting Emma up in a bear hug after his bag hit the floor with a thud. “I got off work as soon as I could to come see you.” 

August was an investigative journalist in the Boston area and still lived near the area they grew up. He mostly did human interest stories which didn’t make him rich but made him enough money to get by. 

“How’s Boston?” Emma asked. 

“Busy as always. Nothing has changed much.” August said. “Oh, that girl that used to live down the block from you when you stayed with the Adams got married and Billy got caught running a car stealing ring so he’s doing time.” 

“That’s not surprising at all.” Emma said. 

“How are you liking it here? Miss the city life yet?” August asked as he plumped down on Emma’s sofa. 

“Not really.” She said sitting beside him. “I really like it here.” 

“Have you made any friends?” August asked. 

“Yeah, mostly they’re work friends but they’re nice.” Emma said. “Most of them anyway.” 

“Are any of them single?” August asked. 

“Actually yeah.” Emma said. “I was going to introduce you to a friend but that situation got complicated so never mind.” 

“I’m sensing there’s a story here.” August said eyeing Emma silently pressing her for details. 

“I don’t know. We got close but I thought it was just a friends’ thing but another friend told me she has a crush on me and that complicates things.” Emma said. 

“I’m guessing you don’t like her back.” August said. “Were you trying to set me up with an ugly friend? You’re an asshole.” 

“She’s not ugly.” Emma said with a laugh. “She’s actually hot, like could-be-a-model hot, she’s smart, she’s kind. She would be perfect for you.” 

“Why haven’t you tried to bang her?” August said. “What’s the catch here?” 

“No catch.” Emma said. “I like her and I like flirting with her but she’s my friend. I can’t bang a friend. Women I hardly know? Sure. But never a friend.” 

“That’s a smart move, Swan.” August said. 

They laughed together for a beat before suddenly sobering up. 

“How’s your dad?” Emma asked. 

August was one of those kids that knew his biological parents. His mom died during childbirth and he was left with his dad who was a raging alcoholic and lost custody of August when he was five years old. There was very little August remembered from that time. His dad came into his life again when he was a teenage but they never managed to see eye to eye. 

“Eh, he’s better.” August said. “He says his clean for good this time but we’ll see. I’m not putting any eggs in that basket.” 

Emma had been there for August on the multiple occasions his dad had stood him up. She knew how hard it was for August to see his dad slurring a half assed apology, no one could blame August for not believing on his will to get better. She felt for August, even if she couldn’t relate. A part of her was thankful that she never met her parents, they were probably way worse than August’s dad. 

“That’s enough of that.” Emma said patting his knee. “There’s a fish market in the harbor, they make the best seafood in all of Maine. Let’s go, my treat.” 

“Of course, it’s your treat, doctor.” August said. “Don’t think for a second that I’m paying for anything while I’m here.” 

“You haven’t changed at all, have you?” Emma asked. 

“Not one bit.” He said flashing her his brightest smile. 

 

 

They walked around the harbor taking everything in. The sea had a distinctly calming effect on a person. The tranquility of the harbor was like coming for air for the both of them. 

“That’s it, I’m going to abandon my life in Boston and just become a person of the sea.” August said. 

“A seamen, if you will.” Emma said. 

“Is that what they’re teaching you in that hospital?” August asked. “If they are, I would like to have a serious conversation with your boss.” 

“Come on, it was funny.” Emma said. 

“It truly wasn’t.” August said. “Here I am trying to imagine my life at sea and you ruin it.” 

“I would love to see you try to be a fisherman.” Emma said. 

“I totally could.” August argued. 

“No, you couldn’t.” Emma said giving him a light shove. 

The pavement was wet which caused August to slip and bump into the person that was walking a few steps ahead of them. The woman had been walking holding a child’s hand when August collided into her she yanked the child’s hand in the impact which caused her to turn back looking like she was ready to tear him apart. 

“I’m so sorry.” He mumbled out. 

“Don’t be sorry, be careful the next time, you idiot.” She said. 

Emma, who had walked a few steps ahead before she noticed August slip rushed back to make sure her friend was okay. 

“I’m sorry, dude.” Emma said. “I didn’t mean to make you slip.”

“Is this troll your friend?” She asked as she put her arm around the kid’s shoulder. 

“Regina?” Emma asked. “Is this your kid?” She said pointing to the boy she had only seen in pictures countless times before. 

“Yes.” Regina said glancing down at Henry.

“You guys know each other?” August asked. 

“I’m her boss, dude.” Regina said simultaneously mocking Emma and August. 

“Oh shit.” August said.

“Shit.” Henry repeated with a giggle. 

“Henry.” Regina reprimanded. 

“Hi, I’m Emma.” She said extending her hand out to Henry. “Nice to meet you.” 

“Nice to meet you too, I’m Henry.” He said as he shook Emma’s hand. 

“And who is this…person?” Regina said eyeing August with distaste. 

“Oh, this is August, the friend I told you about the other day.” Emma said.   
Regina recalled Emma talking about a childhood friend when they spent the day in her apartment. She did not expect Emma’s friend to look like August who looked closer to a homeless man than he did to a person who had anything resembling a job. 

“This is the writer?” Regina asked. 

“Journalist, to be more specific.” August said. 

“That’s so cool.” Henry said. “I want to be a writer when I grow up. I’m in the school paper.” 

“What do you there?” Emma asked. 

“I write the comics.” Henry said. “It’s really fun.” 

“We used to be in our school paper before I joined the science club with all the nerds.” Emma said. 

“Being a nerd is cool now.” Henry said his face the spitting image of Regina when she was unknowingly patronizing someone. The sight made Emma’s stomach flutter. 

“It wasn’t back then.” Emma said. “But I had a lot of fun.” 

“Are you a doctor like my mom?” Henry asked. 

“Not exactly like your mom.” Emma said glancing back to Regina. “At least not yet.” 

“Not yet.” Regina said, a smirk adorning her face before she reached to take Henry’s hand in hers. “We have to get going, it was nice seeing you.” 

“We’re going to grab some food in case you want to join us…” Emma said. 

“No, we couldn’t impose.” Regina said. 

“It’s no imposition.” Emma said. “Right, August?” She asked looking for support. 

“Right. No imposition at all.” August said. The last thing he wanted was to go to dinner with a woman and a kid he’s never met before but he went along with it for Emma’s sake. 

“Enjoy your dinner, Emma.” Regina said. “I’ll see you around.” 

“See ya, Emma and August.” Henry said as he waved good-bye. 

 

 

They walked in silence side by side as they made their way to the restaurant. They even sat and looked over their menus in silence. Something shifted after they ran into Regina. They had agreed to keep it casual but Emma wanted something more, Henry seemed like a cool kid and it could be fun to spend some time together. Emma wanted to spend time with Regina doing things that did not involve a bed or a sofa. 

“Everything okay over there?” August asked after the waiter took their order. 

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” Emma said. 

“So, you’re hot for teacher? Is that why you don’t want anything with the hot friend that has a crush on you?” August asked. 

“Kind of.” Emma said with a shrug. 

“She into you too so you feel free to make a move.” August said. 

“I know.” Emma said. “I already have made plenty of moves. That’s not the problem.”

“I see.” August said. “She’s pulling the Emma Swan on Emma Swan.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Emma asked. 

“I’m saying that for years and years you’ve been the one to pull away at the first sign of something substantial, now that someone else is making that move on you, it bothers you.” August said. “I mean you were even willing to spend time with her child that she has with her husband if the ring on her finger is anything to go by.” 

“Henry is cool.” Emma said. “And she’s not married, not anymore at least.” 

“Married or not, she still wears her ring, Emma.” August said. 

“I know.” Emma said. 

“You should cut your losses and ask out that friend you told me about.” August said. “Whatever that other girl has going on sounds way less complicated than what Dr. Married has going on.” 

“Is not that simple.” Emma said. 

“Matters of the heart hardly ever are.” August said. 

“Heart wants what the heart wants and all.” Emma said. 

“In other news…” August said. “I’ve been working on our side project.” 

“About that…” Emma said. “I’ve been thinking and I don’t think I want to know after all.” 

“Are you sure?” August asked. “Because the stuff I found out, you wouldn’t believe.” 

“Let’s just drop it.” Emma said. “I’m sorry I made you waste your time.” 

In that moment, the waiter came in with their order and refilled their drinks. August was thankful for the interruption because it granted him some moments to get his thoughts in order. He’s known Emma long enough to know that there was a very strong possibility that she did not want to go through with it. For the past few months he had used very resource available to him to find out who Emma’s parents were. 

“I found your mother, Emma.” August said. “She didn’t leave you by the side of the road. You need to know that.” 

“Let’s just drop it, okay?” Emma asked. 

“Emma, she’s right here in Maine.” August said. “As far as I know she isn’t a drug addict or an alcoholic or a maniac that just left her baby abandoned by the side of the road. She isn’t what you think she is.” 

“August, please…” Emma said. 

“You need to know this.” August said. “If you don’t want to meet her, that’s your call but you need to know the truth.” 

“I met her.” Emma said. “I did something I wasn’t supposed to and I…I met her.” 

“When?” August said. “Are you sure it’s her.” 

“I’m sure.” Emma said. “There’s this woman that comes to the clinic a lot and there was something about her…she was so nice, I couldn’t picture her leaving a baby by the side of a road so I had to know, I needed to know for sure.” 

“Is the name of your patient Beatrice by any chance?” August asked. 

“Yes.” Emma said. 

“Do you think she knows who you are?” August asked. 

“I don’t know.” Emma said. “Maybe? I know she doesn’t know I know. I’m not sure I want to say anything. What could I say, anyway? Right now she’s just a patient who is very nice, she doesn’t have to be anything more.” 

“If that’s how you want to keep it…” August said uncertain. “The only thing I can tell you is that even if my father has put me through so much, I don’t regret knowing him. I don’t think you’ll regret meeting your mom.” 

“I don’t know, I have too much going on right now.” Emma said. “I’ve lived without parents all this time and I’ve managed to survive, I don’t need them.” She said looking away from August, focusing her stare on her plate of food. She didn’t want to talk about her parents, she didn’t even want to entertain the possibility of having them in her life. She’s had her fair share of heartbreak and disappointment, she didn’t know if she could handle it again.


End file.
